@Depressionattheprom I will destroy you

~

"Sorry miss, we only sell shoes in pairs." 

Peridot turned around at the strange statement. 

At the cash register was a woman with short curly hair dyed blue in a wheelchair, angrily glaring at the employee who was much bigger than her. On the desk was a shoebox, which Peridot assumed was the cause of this dispute. 

"Listen to me, I served this country for two years in the navy, lost my leg in the middle of a bombing, and survived! I will be damned if this is the thing that stops me!" The woman in the wheelchair was now angrily gripping at the armrests of the wheelchair, standing up straight and looking up to glare at the employee. 

The employee didn't look impressed at all. If anything, she just looked more annoying. She took a deep sigh, and ran her hand through her thick orange hair. 

"Listen, it's store policy I can't-" 

"I LOST MY LEG IN A WAR, STORE POLICIES DO NOT APPLY TO ME!" the woman shouted. The employee seemed a little offended by the fact that this crippled woman was so confident in her ability. 

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The employee growled, dangerously leaning over the counter, looming over the other woman. 

"What are you going to do? Break my legs?" The woman smirked. There was a long moment of angry glaring, and the woman in the wheelchair turned around, and wheeled away and out of the shop. The employee seemed drained by the argument. 

"Excuse me?" Peridot asked, slowly approaching the cashier. 

"Yeah? Keep it quick." the employee certainly wasn't getting paid enough in this place, and Peridot couldn't think of a single reason for her type of behavior. 

"Hello," Peridot leaned a little over the tall counter to look at her name tag, "Jasper. I would like to purchase that pair of shoes." 

It was obvious what her intent was, but Jasper didn't make a single move to stop her. Peridot counted out how much money she needed, paid for the shoes, and quickly left with the box. She looked around the street, looking for the blue-haired woman in the wheelchair. 

She was at the street corner, taking shade under a tree. 

"Um... Hello." the woman looked up at her. She was wearing a plain black tank top with a blue skirt that went down to her knees. Her eyes brightened when she saw the shoebox. "I saw what happened at the store, back there. I-I'm sorry that people act like that. I...I got this for you." 

She handed the box delicately to the woman, and she placed it on her lap, opening the box. There was a pair of light purple sneakers. 

"Thanks. I'm Lapis." she said with a smile, closing the box and putting it in the small bag attached to the wheelchair. 

"Um...I'm Peridot. Nice to meet you." 

"I like your glasses. It's really cute on you." Peridot could feel the blood rushing to her face, and pushed her glasses up on her face. 

"Well, I-I'm sorry if this is rude, but your...your leg? I'm just curious." 

"Oh, it's fine. I graduated high school, and really didn't have any plans for college, so I just joined the military. Well, I joined the navy, and I served under Rose Universe." Peridot couldn't help but interrupt. 

"Rose Universe! The one with Pink Hair that developed the shield?" 

"Yeah, that virtual shield? It was amazing. It was what saved my life, actually. A bomb was about to go off right next to me, the shield was just not big enough. That's how I lost my leg." Lapis patted her right thigh, which ended abruptly at the knee. "Right now I'm working as an tattoo artist." 

"That's amazing. Is Rose really like what people say?" Peridot was just a little disappointed by the thoughtful look on Lapis's face. 

"She...She wasn't everything that people say, but she certainly was something. She was only human, and she was making decisions where there were no right or wrong answers. She was the best person I've ever met." Lapis smiled. Rose was famous for rebelling against the Home Land, as many people called it. They had been a colony for the Home Land, for hundreds of years. There were unfair taxes, strict laws, and overbearing supervisors. After the rebellion, Rose was a hero, even though she had died during childbirth a few months after the war. 

"She sounds lovely." 

"She really was." 

There was a long pause of comfortable silence. 

"I also." Lapis turned to look at her, and Peridot stuttered, "I work in the technology field...And, like, um if you want to, I can make something to replace...your leg." 

Lapis's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across her face. 

"Really, you can do that? I-I don't know. I don't have enough mone-" 

"It's okay, you don't have to pay for it...Um....Maybe just...Coffee? Sometime?" 

Lapis was happy for the first time in a long time. 

"Coffee sounds nice."