….
Regal and Gweondlyn wanted to excuse themselves, but Derren was particular and asked them to join the celebration dinner.
Nevertheless, instead of going too fancy they chose a small booth at an old-school coastal diner four miles from the venue.
Sitting squarely in the center of the table, propped carefully against a glass bottle of ketchup, was the Olympic silver medal.
Across the booth, Haley was busy grilling Regal with questions.
"So give me a second…" Haley said, pointing a French fry at Regal and Gwendolyn. "If Peter Parker is eighteen in the next movie, are his web-shooters still mechanical, or does he get a high-tech suit from Tony Stark? Tommy on my track team said it's definitely Stark tech. But Tommy also thought archers use scopes on their bows, so he doesn't know anything."
Gwendolyn leaned against Regal's shoulder, drinking iced lemonade and laughing into a napkin. "Don't look at me, Haley. I just run the publishing company. You have to ask the boss himself."
Regal swallowed a bite of his club sandwich with a completely straight face. "If I tell you about the web-shooters, studio policy says I have to take back the autograph I signed."
"Please no!!" Haley gasped, quickly slamming both hands over the signed program on the table. "I already sent a picture to my track team group chat. Three girls said they would transfer schools if I don't bring back proof that you're real.
Sitting next to her, Laura laughed and reached over to take an onion ring from Darren's plate. Her fingers still showed red marks from pulling her heavy 42-pound bow through five tough sets, but the stress she had carried for months was finally gone.
Under the table, Darren held her hand, gently rubbing her wrist with a calm, happy smile.
"Eat your fries, Haley." Laura said, nudging her little sister. "Leave Director Seraphsail alone before he puts an annoying archer in his next movie just to complain about equipment."
"I already have a guy for that." Regal joked, looking over at Darren.
"Hey, I only complain about the budget." Darren replied with a grin, picking up his coffee. "Someone has to stop Simon from buying three real steam engines when the script only asks for two."
…
The booth filled with easy laughter.
It was a rare, peaceful afternoon away from the busy world of LIE Studios. There were no assistants with schedules, no reporters asking for movie spoilers, and no urgent production crises. It was just five people sharing diner food, telling jokes, and watching the sun turn soft and golden over the coast.
When the bill arrived, Regal quietly slid his card toward the server before Darren could even reach for his wallet.
"Consider it the official LIE Studios athletic bonus." Regal said before Darren could protest.
"I still have the contract you gave me four years ago, Regal." Laura said softly, looking at him with real gratitude–
"Back when I was an unknown extra and everyone told me to quit archery and get a regular job, you gave me a sponsorship so I could keep training. A diner meal doesn't even come close to paying you back."
"You paid me back the second you put that silver medal on the table." Regal replied warmly. "You earned every bit of it, Laura."
….
Half an hour later, they walked out into the cool evening air in the parking lot.
Haley walked ahead with Gwendolyn, chatting excitedly about her school's upcoming track meet, while Laura climbed into Darren's rental minivan to reply to dozens of congratulatory texts from the national sports committee.
Darren stayed behind near the back of the car, his hands shoved into the pockets of his team jacket.
He looked over at Regal, who was leaning against his studio car.
"Dr. Vance signed off on my final checkup." Darren said quietly.
Regal looked at him and nodded. "How did it go?"
"He said the Joker is completely out of my head." Darren said, letting out a breath of relief. "I think spending the last forty-five days counting shots, carrying bow stands, and cheering until my voice gave out did what four months of therapy couldn't. It brought me back to the real world."
"Good." Regal said, giving Darren's shoulder a solid, friendly pat. "Because the work you're coming back to makes Gotham look easy."
Darren laughed and shook his head. "What's waiting for me?"
"Filming for Block Three starts in twelve days." Regal told him.
"Sounds like a regular Tuesday for you." Darren joked.
"Then comes November 10th." Regal added, his lips twitching with amusement.
Darren paused as he remembered the date. "Isn't that the Golden Globes show at the Beverly Hilton?"
"It is." Regal nodded. "And it's also Jordan's wedding ceremony in East Glendale at seven sharp."
Darren stared at him and then burst out laughing. "Are you serious? You got booked for Hollywood's biggest award show on the same night as the wedding?"
"I am doing both." Regal said calmly.
"How? Are you taking a helicopter?"
"By sneaking out." Regal said with complete, unfazed confidence.
Darren shook his head in disbelief. "Samantha is going to kill you for skipping the Golden Globe after-parties, which is practically like insulting the voters right to their faces."
"Samantha will kill me too if I miss this wedding, so let them stay mad." Regal said with a smile. "Our films are good enough to speak for themselves, and some things in life matter far more than parties."
Darren looked at Regal with deep respect. "You're right. When do you need me back at the office?"
"Monday morning, eight o'clock." Regal said, extending his hand. "We have a huge stack of budgets to review for Block Three, and Simon's desk is a complete mess."
Darren shook his hand firmly. "I will be there at seven-thirty."
….
By the night, the buzz of Olympic winners began to peak.
And there was a certain Silver Medal winner that was making huge waves making the closest loss for Gold.
The clips of her game began to become viral–
During the fourth set of the Women's Recurve final, the camera cut to the family seating area.
The broadcast showed Darren Hayes wearing a blue USA Archery jacket and holding onto the railing.
Two rows behind him, sitting in plain dark hoodies, were Regal Seraphsail and Gwendolyn.
The TV commentators kept talking about the match, but viewers noticed immediately.
Within forty minutes, screen recordings of the moment spread all over social media.
====
1 · #OlympicArchery
2 · #LauraSilver
3 · #DarrenHayes
4 · #RegalSeraphsail
5 · #TommyPayUp
6 · #Kang Min-ji
====
….
====
@ArcheryFan_99: THAT FINAL SET WAS CRAZY! Kang Min-ji is amazing, but Laura fought for every single point! She won an Olympic silver medal by just half a centimeter in the wind! Huge respect for USA Archery!
@FilmTwitter_Live: Guys, rewind the broadcast to the 42-minute mark. Is that Darren Hayes in the coach section? The same Darren who played the Joker in The Dark Knight and vanished two months ago?
@Cinephile_Sam: Everyone thought Darren was recovering in private after playing a scary villain, but he's actually wearing a team windbreaker, holding a stopwatch, and timing archery shots for his girlfriend?!
@PopCultureNerd: LOOK BEHIND DARREN IN THE THIRD ROW. THAT IS REGAL SERAPHSAIL AND GWEN IN HOODIES. The biggest movie director in the world is casually sitting on plastic seats watching target archery!
=====
….
A few hours later, any doubts were cleared up by a post from a high school student.
@haley_shoots_arrows
(Photo: A slightly blurry selfie in a diner booth. An Olympic silver medal is leaning against a glass Heinz ketchup bottle, Laura is smiling with her arm around Darren. Gwen is laughing into a paper napkin, and Regal is holding half a sandwich and giving a calm peace sign to the camera.)
Caption: My sister won an Olympic Silver medal, and my future brother in law brought his boss to buy us cheese fries. Tommy from the track team, you officially owe me twenty bucks and an apology.
(482,000 likes · 18,400 comments)
@Track_Tommy_423: Haley please delete this, my phone won't stop ringing. I believe you now!
@MDCU4_Love: Regal is rushing to finish post-production on 'Train To Catch; before the end of the year, and here he is eating diner fries while an Olympic medal sits against a ketchup bottle.
@In_Ent: I love the contrast between "famous billionaire director" and "guy who went to a local diner to help a teenager win a bet against her classmate."
====
Reddit – r/olympics
[Post] Did anyone else spot the Hollywood crew at the Women's Archery Final?
Posted by u/RangeMaster_Dan
I watch recurve archery all the time, so seeing this match trend on Reddit surprised me.
For anyone wondering why they were there: Laura funded her own training for years until LIE Studios gave her a sports sponsorship four years ago. Darren Hayes has been traveling with her for the last six weeks, carrying her equipment bags, timing her shots, and supporting her.
Celebrity sightings aside, the match against Kang Min-ji was incredible. Scoring a 29 in strong wind during an Olympic gold-medal match takes serious skill.
====
….
News Headlines
====
ESPN: Underdog Laura Pushes World No. 1 Kang Min-ji to the Final Arrow, Winning Olympic Silver for Team USA.
TMZ Sports: FROM GOTHAM TO THE OLYMPICS: Darren Hayes Looks Happy and Healthy Supporting Girlfriend Alongside Regal Seraphsail!
The Hollywood Reporter: A Quiet Break: While the film industry prepares for the upcoming Golden Globe Awards, director Regal Seraphsail spent the weekend away from the studio to support his close friends at the Olympic archery finals.
====
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….
[To be continued…]
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