Zatanna's looked up from her book immediately upon hearing the knocking on the door in her tiny three room apartment. Who would be visiting her? Virtually nobody actually knew where she lived. And while it was her birthday, the only one who one knew that was her manager, Mark, and he had already sent her a text.
Zatanna walked up to the door a bit warily. She slowly unlocked her door, pulling it open to reveal...Bruce with a bouquet of White Roses and a can of Mint Chocolate Ice Cream.
"Happy Birthday, Zee", Bruce said, with a smile.
Zatanna felt a smile reach it's way to her lips. She felt a but of frustration as well. If she had known he was coming, she would have made herself look a bit more presentable than she did at the moment. She had on baggy red sweatpants, an old "Gotham Knights Football" hoodie, and had her hair in a messy ponytail.
Altho, she still looked better off than he did. His hair was longer and more disheveled than she had ever seen it, he looked like he hadn't shaved in a good amount of time, and his eyes were red from likely not getting any sleep. He was still wearing a black leather jacket(which was always a good choice for him, in Zatanna's personal opinion), though.
She also noticed the numerous wounds across his face. A cut on the left side of his neck and several blemishes across his right cheek and forehead. She hated seeing him all bruised and beaten, but that seemed to be the norm ever since he began his crusade. Bruce took on Gotham's entire criminal element, and wounds were forever proof of that.
"Thank you", she said taking the flowers.
She walked into her kitchen, grabbing a glass to put the flowers in. She placed the flowers in the glass and turned on her faucet to give the flowers some water.
"That's a nasty cut on your forehead. Isn't your armor supposed to prevent those kinds of injuries?", she asked.
"In theory", Bruce deadpanned.
Zatanna shook her head at that response. The lack of care Bruce had for his own well-being had always worried her.
"I'm surprised you found time in your busy brooding schedule to stop by. Were all the best rooftops occupied?", Zatanna says in a teasing tone.
She truly meant that comment as nothing more than teasing, but the look in his face was very intense.
"It's your 34th birthday", Bruce said, his tone very soft.
Zatanna felt her heart soar. That's how old her mother was when she passed. She may have mentioned that to Bruce once back when they were in London, and he still remembered?
The flowers...the ice cream...it all made sense. How thoughtful of him. He didn't want her to be alone on her 34th birthday because of the memory of her Mother.
He truly was very thoughtful and while many may not view him this way, she always knew had a very sweet side to him. He had demonstrated it to her plenty of times. This was just one more example.
Zatanna took a moment to let the emotion leave her. Once she had composed herself, her eyes focused on the can of mint chocolate ice cream, her favorite.
"Bowls or Cones?", she asks.
Bruce scoff, "Bowls."
She laughs at his clear disdain for ice cream cones. As she got the bowls, Zatanna realized that this may be a Birthday to remember after all.