"Yeah, I haven’t slept with him." Vincent huffed with a roll of his eyes.
Elliot sucked in a sharp breath, his face distorting in anger. On one hand, he kind of did want to jump to Clark’s defense, and on the other, he couldn’t understand what would possibly possess his brother to pull sass out of his ass at this particular moment, especially when it was so damn hurtful. Towards their long lost sister, no less.
So he shoved Vince. He shoved him back - not hard enough to send him flying, and not really hard enough to make him budge much, but it was evident that he was trying to shove him, at least. He at least wanted Vincent to shove back, but all Vince did was roll his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"You’re an asshole." Elliot said, his frown deepening.
"Hey, look." Vince said, waving a finger in Elliot’s face. “You’re not the only one allowed to worry just because you’re the one that found her. I’ve seen what that guy does and-"
"And he’s not the same." Elliot said, shaking his head. “I’ve actually spent time with him, Vince. He’s not a bad guy."
"Doesn’t matter. He still did all of that." Vincent said. Elliot growled with frustration, throwing his hands up in the air. He loved his brother. He did. But sometimes he hated how much of a stubborn ass Vince could be. Elliot turned, shaking his head as he moved closer to Natalie. He wasn’t going to have all of this fighting over Clark - especially not if Clark wasn’t here to show himself.
A thought occurred to him, and he smirked slightly, turning to look back at Vincent. Vince raised an eyebrow, curious. Elliot simple shrugged, still smirking, and said, “He makes her happy. He was taking care of her before I met her. She’s happy with him."
“She’s happy with him." Elliot repeated, and Vincent sighed, throwing his hands up in the air, exactly as Elliot had just moments earlier.
"What- whatever makes you happy." Vince said, looking at Natalie as he forced a smile.
"Good. No more arguing. She still has to meet Mom and Dad." Elliot said, his smile genuine now. He felt relieved that the argument had passed. He knew he’d hear more about it later, but as long as Vincent didn’t do it in front of Natalie, then he could deal with it. He just didn’t want Vince to unintentionally hurt Natalie or scare her off in some way. He didn’t bring her here to have her get hurt. He brought her to meet her family.
"Alright, this way," Vince said, gesturing through the front door. Elliot smiled reassuringly at Natalie, taking her hand and leading her into the house that had been her home once upon a time. There was no one to be seen in the living room, but he’d already guessed that much anyway, seeing as no one else had come to see who was at the door. “This is the living room. Not much to see, though." Vince said as he came in behind them, shutting to door.
"Kitchen?" Elliot guessed, looking back at Vincent. The kitchen had always been a sort of central spot for all of them. Many relaxing nights had been passed sitting around the kitchen table well after dinner. Vincent nodded, and Elliot led the way into the kitchen, promising Natalie that he’d give her a tour of the house later.
Elliot’s heart leaped to his throat as he took in the familiar sight of his father sitting at the table while his mother stood at the stove. It had been so long since he had last seen them, and he remembered many nights in which he never thought that he’d see them again. Nights that he either thought he would die or that he’d never find them again. He was once again overwhelmed, and he knew that there was no finding his voice for the moment, so Vince put a hand on both Elliot’s and Natalie’s shoulders and said brightly, “Look who’s come for a visit!"
