X is for Xerography
How do you say thank you to the person who had saved your life more times than you can count…how do you let the person who is always by your side know just how much they mean…how do you return a thousand favors that were freely given? It was a question that regularly wormed his way to the back of Blade's mind during quiet moments.
For most of the men and women, he worked with the answer was simple. He expressed his appreciation through praise, through time off, through food…and for most that were enough…but Maru was different. While everyone else considered Blade to be the boss, Maru acted and functioned more like his equal and that meant that Blade needed a different toolbox to express his appreciation.
In reality, Blade had known Maru long enough to fully understand the type of gift Maru would enjoy most. Sadly, for Maru, it was also the type of gift that Blade absolutely refused to get him on principle, though the Chief had long learned to look the other way when Cabbie or Windlifter would snag Maru a can or bottle of high-quality high grade as a gesture of their thanks.
With the easy option off the table, Blade had to go on the hunt for there was only one type of gift that he knew would bring joy to his best friend. So, he took a few days off during the shoulder of the season and allowed himself to meander through second-hand and antique shops. There were of course many things that caught his eye, and a few items that would have been perfect if they had only been in his price range…but due to his tight budget Blade continued his search.
Finally, he spotted it in a dusty corner of a roadside shop. At $15 it was far less than he had planned to spend, but sometimes life hands you a bargain. Nonetheless what made the gift perfect was it practically cried out to be taken apart. To be cleaned and adjusted. The fact that the object could be used to make art once back in good repair was only an added bonus.
The car manning the cash register gave Blade an odd look when he dragged the contraption up to the front.
"Do you know what that even is?" The car asked clearly confused why Blade wanted something that he clearly considered to be junk.
"It is a type of early printer. It uses electricity to make the copies." Blade replied while trying to catch his breath because the printer had been far heavier than he had expected.
"And you know it is probably broken right?"
"Oh." Blade couldn't keep a grin from spreading across his face. "I am counting on it."
The casher just rolled his eyes, rang up the total, and loaded the unwieldy object into Blade's hatch without any more argument. Mission complete, the helicopter couldn't help but hum happily to himself all the way back to base, knowing that he had found the perfect birthday gift to scratch Maru's need to tinker.
