As Rose Petals Fall

Chapter 20:

First Date

When they returned to St. Agnes', the doctors immediately looked over them to make sure nothing in their condition had changed. Dr. John Jones, Dick's oncologist, insisted on an MRI to check on the tumors in his brain. Zatanna got to sit in the room with Dick as he lay down on the bed and moved into the machine. There was actually a charity ball for the hospital coming up and the patients were all invited. Apparently, if donors met the people their money would help, they were more likely to give.

"So..." said Zatanna "You want to go to that charity ball together? We could... classify it as our first date..."

"That ball's in a month, Zee, we'll probably go on our first date before then," Dick said from within the machine "But, yeah, I'd love to go with you,"

Zatanna smiled as they waited for Dr. Jones to give the all clear for Dick to come out. After a minute, he was let out and he sat up. He still had his black beanie on as he, like Zatanna, was cautious about his head since it was covered with surgical scars. Dick hung his legs over the edge of the bed, leaned over and kissed Zatanna's cheek.

"You wanna go to the movies with me? I'll pay for overpriced popcorn!" he tempted her.

Zatanna laughed and nodded, taking his hands and rested her forehead on his. Dick chuckled and kissed her forehead. He stood up straight and went to change from his hospital scrubs to his everyday clothes (which patients had nicknamed their "civvies") before anything else. Zatanna grinned before rolling herself out of the room to change into more date-appropriate clothes.

Obviously, they were accompanied by a team of nurses to make sure they were fine. Zatanna had her wig in a high ponytail and wore a pair of cream three-quarter long trousers, a lavender t-shirt and a white fleece cardigan. On her feet were some plain white sneakers and she kept her precious satchel with her. Dick was buying a popcorn bucket and two large sodas as well as a pack of gummy bears. Since they were out of hospital, they both had heart monitors on their wrists and he had his IV bag of anticonvulsants hidden under his clothes.

He walked back over to his date and she offered to balance some of the snacks. Luckily, the wheelchair she was currently using had a cup holder that she put her soda in and she took the popcorn. Dick held his soda in the elbow of his arm with the broken hand and pushed her along with his free one.

"What are we seeing?" Zatanna asked, looking back at him.

"Big Hero 6," said Dick "It's an animation based off a Marvel comic,"

"How romantic for a first date," Zatanna said, sarcastically.

Dick laughed at her joke as they headed into the screening room. It was a big cinema with a flat area for paraplegic people to seat themselves in their chairs. They came to a stop in that area and Dick took the first seat next to it with Zatanna right next to him. She balanced the popcorn bucket on his seat arm and they both took a few pieces to eat. Zatanna looked around the cinema and saw the number of other people who had come to see the film. There were little kids with parents, elderly couples and even a scout group.

"Gummy bear, Zee?" Dick offered, quietly.

Zatanna took one and put it in her mouth. The curtains pulled away to reveal the movie screen followed by the warning to turn off their mobile devices. They both took out their cellphones and turned them off. The nurses who were stood on the edges of the cinema had cleared it with the staff to keep their pagers on for medical emergencies. Zatanna looked down at Dick's broken hand resting on the cinema seat armrest and gently slid her fingers with his. They looked at each other and smiled before looking back at the screen.

When the end credit scene finished, Dick got to his feet and pushed Zatanna along to the entrance. The nurses followed after them like bodyguards. He looked around at them before stopping and he walked around to face her.

"You know, sometimes I wish I could just bribe these nurses to leave us alone," he said.

"Why?" Zatanna asked, smiling at him.

"So there would be less of an audience when I do this..." Dick said.

He leaned down, took her face in his hands and kissed her. Straight on her lips, innocent and meaningful. Zatanna reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Yes, people looked but she felt like him and her were the only two people on Earth.

"Wow... now, that's a first kiss," she stereotypically giggled.

"You're telling me. So, did I time it right?" Dick asked her.

Zatanna laughed and nodded. She was blushing from the publicity but suddenly took his broken hand and took a marker from her satchel. She moved his sleeve up and began scribbling on his cast. Dick looked down to see what she had written:

Let's go out again ;)

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. A blush crept onto his cheeks as he reached into his pocket and took out a small box.

"Here, a gift for our first date," Dick said, nervous over whether she'd like it or not.

Zatanna opened the box and took out a Knights of the Realm keychain. She laughed and took her satchel into her arms.

"Bird-Brain! This is so... it's adorable! I love it!" she exclaimed, clipping it onto her satchel.

"Yeah, I figured out your bag is pretty much a timeline of your life so I got you something to mark our trip to Realm-Con," he said, smiling.

Zatanna smiled at him with tears in her eyes. She just had to find something to mark her friendship/relationship with Dick. Maybe a photo of them both? But, without a doubt, it was the perfect first date.

SO ROMANTIC! If any of you have ideas for this story then review! I'd love to hear from you!