Beauty was a word that once meant so much to Amélie Lacroix. So many people around her considered her one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her parents, her school friends, even her first boyfriend Gerard. But these days, beauty was a word that Amélie didn't like to associate herself with, not any more.

She sighed, sitting alone in her darkened bedroom in her apartment. The lights and sounds of the city outside were all she had to break the silence. In her hands, she looked down at an old picture of herself, taken from a time she wished she could go back to all over again, to redo the mistakes that had led her to the dark place in her life where she was now.

Amélie looked down at the picture in her hand, seeing the pale skinned, blue-haired woman wearing a simple red evening gown. That was her once, many years ago. She looked so beautiful then, so angelic, so utterly perfect, but then it all had to end one fateful day.

A day that had been forever burned literally into Amélie's memory. A day she wanted to forget so badly, a day so bad, it made everything wrong in her life look innocent in comparison. It was the day she had lost her beauty, her humanity.

She once worked in a laboratory, as an assistant to the brilliant scientist Dr Moira O'Deorain. In school, she had studied the doctor's work extensively, and was overjoyed when her internship with the genius was accepted. Moira was a geneticist, hoping to find cures for diseases and overall enhance human life.

Although, Amélie had very few fond memories of her mentor. She was so possessed into her work and so very cold to her and her colleague Angela Ziegler. But, Amélie moved on. She knew that Moira was merely being harsh to educate her, at least that's what she tried to tell herself.

One day, however, a terrible accident in the lab had spilt a number of strong chemicals and acids all over her body. She remembered screaming in pain as her flesh burned and boiled from the acid. The pain and her own screams still kept her up at night to this day.

Thankfully, Angela had managed to get her to a hospital where she was treated for her injuries, but sadly, the damage had already been done and was permanent. On that day, Amélie's life had been changed forever, for the worst.

As a result of the chemicals, Amelie's skin had been bleached completely blue, turning a more purple shade in the dark or when she was cold. Her eyes, once dark brown, now glowed gold, making her look like an inhuman monster, judging those around her.

She hid away after getting out of the hospital, preferring not to be seen in public. She knew it was for the best, since she couldn't exactly blend in with normal people now that she was so different. She knew what people would call her. Freak, Monster, Witch. Moira didn't exactly comfort her either, casting her out after the accident.

From that moment on, Amélie had been alone. Even Angela, the closest friend she'd had at the lab had stopped talking to her eventually. She moved on, trying odd jobs to make ends meet, although she knew they wouldn't last, not while people still judged her.

After spending many years alone, Amélie had found peace and love, but on nights like this, she found herself looking at this picture again, letting her buried emotions overtake her. She used to be so beautiful, but was that a distant memory now? Was she cursed to be this ugly blue freak for the rest of her life?

She hugged herself, starting to cry soft tears down her tulip-coloured cheeks. She clung to her own body tightly, letting it all out in a flurry of tears. For that brief moment, for the first time in many years, Amélie felt scared and saddened. She felt it was all over for her.

Nothing left for her to do in her life. No friends, no loved ones. She felt so hopeless. Why had the lord punished her this way? Was there some cosmic reason for all this suffering? If Amélie had done something wrong, she hoped the punishment had been worth it.

As she sobbed to herself, the door to her room opened up and a familiar face walked inside, embracing her softly from behind. In that cold, cold room, Amélie found a source of warmth, a warmth that was most welcomed and slowed the tears for a few seconds.

"Hey, love," a cockney accented voice said softly, before a pair of lips then kissed her on the cheek. "You okay? I was waiting downstairs when I heard you crying."

Amélie looked to her left, seeing the smiling face of her girlfriend, Lena, sitting beside her on the bed, with arms wrapped around her waist. Lena had been with Amélie for just over a year now. They'd met while working at a job together, one of the many Amelie had done in her life.

Lena was the first person that Amélie had met since the accident that didn't see her as a monster or a freak, who was able to look past her disfigurement. For the first time in ages, Amélie had a friend and pretty soon, they were more than friends.

"L-Lena?" the blue-skinned girl stuttered, looking at her British girlfriend in the face, wiping tears from her face. "I-I'm sorry... I got all caught up with-"

"Shhh," the cockney girl comforted her, snuggling Amélie, and nuzzling her cheek like she was a friendly kitten. She knew Amélie loved being cuddled like this, being shown all this warmth and affection. She deserved it after all. "It's alright, love. I'm here now."

The blue-skinned french woman sighed, looking down at the photo in her hand. Was it really alright? Was this all really her happy ever after? Maybe all of this had been such an elaborate dream made by her depression filled mind? Another kiss on the cheek from Lena reminded Amélie that this was all truly real.

"I... I was looking at this again, Lena," Amélie explained, showing her girlfriend the picture. "I used to be so beautiful... and now I'm-"

"That's enough of that," Lena silenced her girlfriend, sternly. "You still are beautiful, Amélie, You're the most beautiful woman in the world, blue skin or not. I'll always love you. Hell, I've never loved anyone as much as I love you. You're the girl of my dreams, no matter what you looked like or used to look like."

Amélie knew there was honesty in that voice, but her mind was still filled with dark, depressing thoughts. She didn't want to believe Lena. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself it was true. She was still ugly and deformed.

"No..." Amélie denied, looking away from her lover. "I'm not that woman anymore. Not for a long time... I'm a monster now, and you're a fool for loving me... You should have gone for that other girl you were with, Emily. She was much more beautiful than me."

"Don't be silly, love," Lena stated, holding her hands, taking them into her own and gazing into her eyes. "You are Amélie Lacroix, my girlfriend and the woman who stole my heart. I love you more than anyone and anything else in the world. Sure, I was torn between you and Em, but I realised that I was better being with the girl I loved than my best friend. You opened up a new chapter in my heart. And... you're the girl I wanna spend the rest of my life with."

Amélie felt touched, seeing the adoration and love in Lena's eyes. She knew it was true, especially coming from her. She smiled, the first smile in what felt liked hours. "Cherie... I..." She cried again, happy tears this time, before embracing Lena tightly.

Lena hugged her back, stroking Amélie's purple hair and holding her in a warm embrace. "I love you too," she finished before her lover then suddenly pulled her into a deep loving kiss, which Lena couldn't help but kiss back too, sighing in the tender moment.

Their lips and souls were joined, Amélie's hands on Lena's cheeks. The French girl deserved this. She deserved all the happy and beautiful times Lena would bring to her. Sighing, she let herself pull away, touching foreheads with her true love.

Smiling, Lena stroked her cheek. "You okay now?"

"Yes..." Amélie sighed. "Thank you, beloved. I'm sorry I can still be like this."

"No need to apologise, love," Lena told her. "You're only human. Now come on and get dressed already. I don't wanna keep Emily waiting."

Amélie then giggled. "Yes... I'd hate for us to be rude and stand her up like this."

The two of them got changed and were soon in Lena's car, driving through the streets of the city to meet up with their mutual friend Emily. They'd been planning this dinner for a month now and Amélie still felt bad for nearly making her and Lena late.

But then she knew that her friends were accepting of her. While she was in a better place now, mental struggles like hers didn't just go away overnight. But, she was glad that she now had a loving girlfriend to rely on, to make her smile in times of sadness and depression.

Finally, the two girls made it to the restaurant that they had booked, walking through the front doors. Amélie felt happy being here, being in public where no one would judge her. She looked down at herself, wearing the same red gown as in her picture.

"Told you you're still beautiful," Lena said, kissing her cheek. Then the two of them spied a ginger-haired girl waving to them from the corner.

Amélie smiled. "Come on, we shouldn't keep her waiting any longer."

xXx

Author's note: Some angst to wrap these Overwatch one-shots up!