Newfounded Family

Chapters Three

The clock became deafening in its tick-tocking way,words falling to the grave as Merlin sat in the chair beside Lizzie,smoothing out his trousers as he did so. The teen refused to look at him,glare fixed sullenly on the man in front - George Riune,Merlin's brain supplied. "Mr Addair? Right,this is Lizzie,Elizabeth, as you probably already know…" The Scot's mind wandered as the social worker talked,taking in the painful office interior and cheap furniture,choosing to ignore the feeling of metaphorical daggers being aimed at him from the seat beside him. As George discussed the reasons for the change in placement and what would entail after for the man,Merlin became acutely aware of what he was agreeing to,what Kingsman was agreeing to.
"We are aware that Lizzie isn't the easiest of teens," George continued,aiming a look to the sulky girl,opening his desk drawer to retrieve a few papers. "And that fostering a child in this climate can get…difficult but the allowance given is more than enough. All we need to do is have a quick look at your house,a background check has already been completed and a few papers signed." A desperate smile graced George's face,hands folding in front of him as he waited for Merlin's response. The silence layered itself as Merlin mulled it over,the pretence of consideration christening his face. "Alright,do you have a date in mind? Concerning this house survey?" Merlin finally responded,hand reaching into his pocket to pull out the documents required - direct copies of the ones George had plastered to do the desk.  
Confusion furrowed in the social worker's brow as he took the papers,nodding as he quickly checked his calendar. "I can do…3 weeks from now Thursday? 4pm? After that,there'll be a bit of a waiting period as this is not an emergency cas-" He had no chance to finish his sentence as his phone rang,out of the blue,its shrill-like tone echoing uncomfortably. He also had no chance to greet the caller before he was nodding to the callers words obediently,Confusion morphing into some form of fear and puzzlement. Hanging up,he plastered on a smile,folding his hands once more. "No need for the waiting period,I've been told that everything is in order. I'll leave you two to get acquainted." And with that,he made a swift exit,heading for his manager's office with several questions.

The silence that followed was as uncomfortable as it was heavy,Merlin unsure of how to approach the girl and Lizzie unwilling to meet him half way. Gathering himself,Merlin turned in his chair to face the teen,face steely as its often use was for baby faced recruits. "Ye came by the shop. Yesterday,hiding from the bill." He chose his words carefully,wondering of the old fashioned term would click in her head.
"And? None of your business is it." Came the snappy,broody reply. Merlin didn't respond,merely looked at her and waited. The silence before had seemed heavy,this one suffocated the room. A small victory chimed in his favour as she spoke again,"Didn't realise you was tracking all my bloody movements. Told George you was a nonce and all,gonna leave cameras in the shower like a gaudy old perv?" The words were all but spat from her mouth,venom transfixing every syllable but Merlin paid no mind,tilting his head at the girl.
"Whats wrong with your current family?"
The questions felt breezy,felt like he was trying to make awkward conversation but it was more to gage her character than anything.
"Fucking dickheads the lot of em." Lizzie mumbled,settling further into her chair as anger brewed at the thought of them. "Think they deserve a medal for having a foster kid,in their shiny contemporary dump with kids as thick as them. Valentine might have had a hand in getting rid of em as well had they not gone hiking in Cumbria. Fucking hiking." Her words climbed in volume in the small room yet they were her words filling it,more than what she had spoken in the office before. If Merlin had to hide his amused mouth twitch,she wouldn't have noticed it. "Still," She continued, "Only a bit better than the idiots that run the home. Couldn't run a bath if it came and presented itself in instruction video form. Too busy looking at their own anal cavity to give a fuck."

Merlin said nothing,merely shifted in his chair as he thought,brow pinched in thought. "I'm not going to mollycoddle ye and pretend to be ye parents." He said after a while,pausing before he spoke again,voice clear yet firm. "I won't rip you from your friends and school,though ye will live in London. You can leave as soon as yer are finacially able to. I only ask that ye attend school and pass your exams." As he laid his terms down,the redhead stilled as she thought,mind racing as fight drained out from her temporarily. The pros and cons weighed each other out equally,the idea of a semi-stable home life tantalising,more so than she thought. Lizzie nodded quickly,blink and you would've missed it. Satisfied and slightly surprised,Merlin relaxed into his chair at the easy agreement.
Perhaps this would be easier than he thought.