Marble Statuette | T. Drake

[01]

It was truly a spectacle to see all the guests arrive at the Fall Gala in their best costumes rather than the usual formal attires. The venue was decorated accordingly as well with jack-o-lanterns, miniature bats, autumn leaves, and other Halloween-themed decorations.

The Gotham Press was there too, covering the event and taking interviews with the attendees. But when the star couple of the evening showed up, all the cameras and mics were shoved their way.

Olivia and Tim were both leading the project responsible for the development and launch of VANYA so it was quite understood that all the limelight would be on the two. While Tim was quite experienced in dealing with the press and handling social situations, Olivia tended to panic at the unwanted attention.

Her arm was linked to her boyfriend's as she tried to avoid being questioned by the reporters. At that rate, she would forget the speech she had prepared for the launch, and in her head, she was only focusing on repeating the rehearsed words.

Tim knew that so he handled the situation effortlessly, managing to get them through the press and finally to the exhibition area.

"Oh my, someone looks ready to kill tonight," a very familiar and cheerful voice snapped Olivia out of her speech repetition and she turned to see Stephanie Brown dressed up in a striking costume of Tiffany Valentine.

Standing beside her was the adorable Nico Orwell who had thankfully not chosen the Chucky costume to match with Steph. Instead, he was dressed up as King Arthur complete with his armor and sword.

"Could say the same for you too," Olivia's mood perked up immediately to see her best friend, "you two look great."

"You two, well, look like a married couple," Nico joked, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Honey, we fight like one too," Olivia replied playfully, her eyes flickering to the rest of the guests to look for other Wayne family members, "where's everyone else? Oh, I see Bruce."

"Yeah, Barbara and Dick are running late," Steph told them, "Dick was called last minute to deal with a situation at the GCPD. Cassie and Damian are here. Jason is what he likes to say fashionably late."

Olivia nodded, looking at the distant figure of Bruce Wayne who was greeting the guests. Turning to Tim, she asked, "why is Bruce not in costume?"

"He is," he smiled, "who do you think he is dressed up as?"

"An old version of himself? Judging by the grey hair," she remarked.

"Nope, he's dressed up as James Bond," Steph added with a laugh, "he chose the costume that would take the least effort on his part."

"And Alfred surprised us with a Dracula costume," Tim joined in on the conversation, "he looks awesome. The only one of us not in costume tonight is Damian. He thinks Halloween is a hassle and he was furious that we kept the Gala themed as such."

Olivia grimaced slightly, "yikes, I did not know he would take such offense. He should learn to deal with it."

In a short while, all the guests and the remaining members of the Wayne family had reached the venue so the launch was set to begin. Olivia was feeling rather nervous about it all but having Tim with her was quite a reassurance.

Tim always knew exactly how she was feeling and he always made sure to make her feel better around him no matter what the situation was.

He squeezed her hand gently to let her know that everything would proceed smoothly and that there was nothing to worry about. She turned to look at him, offering him a slight smile as she nodded her head, accepting that comforting gesture.