Chapter 127. A couple

Chapter 127. A couple
Laura's face automatically turned into a smile as they walked further into the room.
"Laura hunny, how are you?" Gloria asked with a small smile and Laura returned it with a polite one.

"I am very well, thank you." She said softly.

"Good afternoon, everyone." She greeted

"It's nice having you here, Laura. Leo's father said and Laura smiled brightly at him.

"Thank you for having me." She said before turning her focus to the host of the whole dinner. "Grandfather." She headed towards where he sat.

"Laura dear. " He embraced her lightly before releasing her. "How are you doing,  child?"

Laura nodded with a smile. "Better than ever really. And I hope you're doing well yourself?"

Before Archibald could reply, Leo scoffed behind Laura. "Why wouldn't he? The old man derives health from scolding me."

"That's because you refused to grow up." Archibald said with a straight face.  But Laura who has known the both of them since she had been married to Leo knew that there was no form of enmity between them or their discussions  like that. That was how they were with each other and Laura knew better than anyone how much Leo doted on his grandfather, even though he would never admit it in a million years. But regardless,  they were still the closest of all the Carters.

"Yeah yeah." Leo said and Laura couldn't help the smile that broke on her lips at the duo. "Anyways,  you asked me to bring her and now she's here. Can we have lunch now?"

"Not yet." Archibald said blankly. "We're still expecting one more person."

Leo let out a sigh as he moved to take a seat besides his parents and Laura followed suit. "We're probably going to die of starvation before your guest gets here."
Laura turned her attention to Leo. "I thought you said the portion of the breakfast was enough?" Laura muttered to him

Leo nodded. "Well it was, besides the fact that I still had to feed you from it,"
"You did that on your own will." She corrected him.

"Doesn't change the fact it still happened. " He said with a smug smile on his lips. "Besides,  that was hours ago. You can't expect me to be hungry again."

Laura scoffed. "You should have just told me and I would have packaged something for you."

Before Leo could say anything else, Archibald's voice suddenly cut him off. 

"Did you both spend the night together?"

His question caused the room to go quiet and both Laura's and Leo's head snapped towards the older man who was now staring at him.

"What?" Leo asked unconsciously

Archibald scoffed as he looked away from them. "Don't act like you're unaware of what I asked."

Leo set her lips on a thin line as she passed a quick glance at Leo who glanced back at her, almost as if they were passing silent signals through their eyes.

"What is this? Professor X movie or something?"

Right when opened his mouth to speak,  the sound of approaching footsteps stopped him midway as his attention turned towards whomever had arrived.

"It seems like your guest is here." Leo said as he stood up from where he sat. "I guess we can head over to the dining area now."
Just then, then footsteps appeared closer until whomever had arrived suddenly waltzed through the door. The moment Leo's eyes locked with that of the last person who had shown up, he felt his blood spike.

Laura on the other hand felt her hand go cold and numb.

Oh no.

"Nathan, you're finally here." Archibald said as he stared at his second grandson who had just walked in.

"Grandfather," Nathan headed towards where the older man sat.

Archibald stood up from his seat and placed a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "How are you, son? You've been quite mute for weeks now." He pointed out. "Is there something going on?"

Nathan, who had been quiet, shook his head. "It's nothing, grandfather. Just took a short break from work." He said as his eyes immediately moved to lock with Laura's who felt herself turned numb under his stare. 
"Just needed a break from some other things as well."

Laura immediately broke her gaze from his as her fingers fiddled with the strap of her bag as she tried to keep her composure.
"Well, couldn't that break have taken you maybe a year or two away from here?" Leo asked, obviously displeased at his sudden appearance. "And here I thought we were going to have a good lunch. Guess I was mistaken."

Nathan didn't say anything for a while. His eyes still on Laura slowly moved towards Leo who held him in like he wanted to murder him on the spot.

"Do you...ever grow up, Leonard?" Nathan finally spoke.

Leo scoffed at his words. "I would rather not exchange trivial words with you, especially not in front of my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Gloria stared at her son as the entire room turned completely silent.

"You guys heard me,"  Leo said as he moved towards Laura who stared at him with shock. He pulled her up slowly and entwined his hands with hers while his hands had been locked with Nathan ever since. "I want you guys to say hello to my girlfriend."

While Leo spoke, he enjoyed the annoyance and irritation that passed through his cousin's face. Just like he wanted it to.

"You guys are seriously together? Like an actual couple?" Austin asked as he looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Yes father. "

Gloria turned his attention towards Laura who had not said anything since Leo dropped the news on them. "And what about you,  Laura?" She asked, causing Laura's attention to move to hers.

"Ma'am?"

"You're not saying anything regarding the news." Gloria said. "Or is it not true?"
Leo scoffed which pulled his mother's attention back to him. "Why would you even say that mother? Would it say something like that if it weren't true?"
Another silence passed through the living room.

"Laura?" Austin called as he waited for her confirmation on the news.

Laura suddenly felt like every eye present at that moment was on her. But one felt way deeper than the rest and she couldn't help but move her gaze towards Nathan. His stare on her wasn't hard, neither was it soft. It felt more intense and staring deeply---she suddenly felt something stir in her chest as he appeared calm and composed like he always did while they were still very close. Suddenly, she pulled her attention away from him and turned the rest of the people in the room.

"That is correct. " She finally confirmed. "Leo and I are dating."

Another silence dropped in their midst. 

The next moment, smiles appeared on their faces.

"That's lovely news." Gloria said with a bright smile

"Although I was not expecting the both of you to get back together after all you've been through,  this is indeed good news." Austin said with a smile as he placed his hands over his wife's shoulders.

"Congratulations, you two." Demetri said for the first time since they had walked in.

"Thank you." Laura said with a smile painting her lips.

Everyone besides Nathan and Leo's grandfather had said anything since the news was dropped. Laura stared at Archibald silently as she tried to contemplate whether or not it was a good idea for them to drop the news like this.
Suddenly,  the older man began making his way towards where Leo and Laura stood side by side and Laura watched him in anticipation. As he came to stand before the both of them, he stared down at her first of all before moving his gaze back to his grandson.

"Grandfa..." Leo's words are cut short as Archibald placed a light heat at the back of Leo's head. "What the fu..."

"Language," Archibald warned before Leo could finish the word. "You stupid brat, how long were you both going to keep me waiting?"

Laura glanced at Leo and then back at the older man who looked slightly frustrated.

"For the first time,  you're actually listening to my instructions and doing the right thing." 

He said. Then his eyes moved down to Laura then he gave her a nod. More like one of approval and Laura couldn't help the bright smile that formed on her lips.

"I'm guessing we should celebrate this then."