eglaf | Lydia Martin

Lydia Martin

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Arranged Marriage Share the Bed Soulmates code by tessisamess

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Maybe he should feel worse about taking this route, but he doesn't. In a world where bachelors can't be and aren't trusted to continue being leaders or business owners, Ray doesn't really have much of a choice in whether or not he needs to proceed, but maybe he should've chosen someone older. People won't judge him poorly, he knows that; younger women and older men are something of a trend in his position in the world. Older men with a lot of money take young wives who can bear them children to become heirs, who look more attractive on their arm at events or fundraisers. It's the young woman in question Ray's actually worried about because he's never ventured down this particular road. It's not like he's hurting for reasons women might be interested in dating him, but Ray's kind of on a time crunch now that Anna's died and he bought out Queen Consolidated as a means to motivate himself again when all had felt lost.

Her parents are agreeable. Probably because they know that he's more than financially stable and he'll be able to take care of her. Today, he's meeting — really meeting — the girl for whom he's already paid a dowry, bought a ring, and announced his engagement to for all the world to let him off the hook. He doesn't have to lose his company if he's not married so long as he's in the process of getting there. Lydia is young, yeah. But she's incredibly smart and Ray could have his pick, really; any parents would be happy to hand off their daughter to an attractive, wealthy, and successful man looking for a partner, but Ray doesn't want any girl.

He wants one that can still keep up with him; one who won't feel like he's married a child. He wants one that has similar interests and ambitions. He wants this one. She can help him, he thinks, not only be allowed to keep his company, but to make it better. Ray's been doing this for a long time. She'll have a fresh perspective and maybe new ideas to offer. It doesn't hurt, of course, that she's beautiful. A part of him feels kind of awkward being attracted to someone nearly half his age, but there's something about her that strikes him, too, as older. Maybe she's got an old soul. Maybe she's had to grow up faster than most her age for some reason or another. Maybe she's just got a fire he can't explain but can kind of sense in her. He likes her more than he should from what little he knows of her. He's looking forward to seeing how well they might possibly get on in person when they spend more than a few minutes in one another's company.

So he shows up at her parents' home and he treats it like the first date it actually is. Maybe he goes a little overboard. The limo waiting behind him with champagne already chilling — no one has to know he's letting a minor drink if she wants to, so long as she keeps it between the two of them, right? It's just champagne, anyway — is maybe a bit much. Probably the flowers are. He's old fashioned and he wants to make a good impression; he can't help it. Ray is practically bouncing on his heels with nervous anticipation — he genuinely does want this to go well and if she hates him, he's not above letting her parents keep the dowry and moving on to try to find another potential wife, but he'd spent weeks looking before finding her and he would really like to avoid having to start over if he can manage it — as he rings the doorbell.

Lydia understands why her mother arranged her for marriage, even if she doesn't agree with it. Between how tight money has been, and how bad Beacon Hills has been for her, getting Lydia out of this small middle-of-nowhere town. That being said, getting married off to a stranger certainly isn't her idea of gaining freedom, and she's had more than one argument with her mother about how she went about this whole thing without consulting Lydia at all. She wouldn't be complacent in any of this... at least, that was until she found out exactly who had chosen her as a future wife.

No, Lydia isn't shallow. Well she was, in the past, but when it comes to marriage things are different, it isn't a fling with some pretty guy that she spotted in the halls of a high school; it's supposed to be forever. The only reason why she's willing to forego love in this whole situation isn't because of money or status, but because it's Ray Palmer, and Ray Palmer is, above all else, a scientist. Even if Lydia is miserable with him for the rest of her life, he gives her the opportunity to do exactly what she's always wanted; change the world with her talented mind. He's not only her ticket out of Beacon Hills, but he's her way into a lab, one that has more to offer than even the best universities in the country. So, Lydia bites her tongue, and instead of shooting this whole thing down she decides to give it a chance. If not for herself, for the people that she can end up helping down the line.

Once she got past that part, it really hit her. Ray Palmer has chosen her for his wife - Ray Palmer. He's one of the smartest men in the world, if not the smartest period, and he's almost double her age. That part doesn't confuse her, it isn't strange for older men to go for younger women, but Ray Palmer can have literally anyone he wants... what made him decide to go for a no-name girl in California who hasn't even had her nineteenth birthday? She supposes she'll find out tonight when he picks her up, and that's caused a whole different set of issues that she's tackling now. She must have changed her outfit six times, convinced that everything in her closet is too 'teen' and not 'sophisticated' enough for someone like Raymond Palmer, but she finally settles on a one piece with a thin jacket that she barely manages to pull on before she hears the doorbell ring. She wishes she had more time to call Stiles and have him help her calm down, but this is it; Lydia is going to come face to face with the man that she's going to marry.

She stands on the other side of the door for a few moments, eyes closed as she sucks in a deep breath, and by the time she opens it she manages to fall into her calm and collected role with a polite smile up at him. The flowers take her by surprise, and for a moment her smile is almost genuine. "Hello - oh, those are beautiful." She's about to continue before she falters, just catching the sight of the limo behind him, and suddenly Lydia is regretting not staying in the dress she tried on six outfits ago. Where was he taking her...?

'Concentrate, Lydia. You're getting ahead of yourself.' She looks back up at him with a soft smile. "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

When she opens the door, Ray can't help the pleasantly surprised expression on his face. He already knew from photographs and Skype conversations that she was beautiful, but seeing her in person sort of puts it on a whole other level. She's kind of breathtaking, actually. At her comment on the flowers, Ray smiles and starts to offer them to her before he notices the look on her face.

Ray's expression falls. "Oh, no...too much?" He looks appropriately apologetic as he winces. "Too much. It's too much...right, sorry. I'm sorry, I'm not actually...very good at this? Dating. I haven't done it in a while..." he admits. And now he wonders if he ought to send the limo off and call his other driver to just bring the sedan...

"Oh! Yeah, yes. Yes, it's nice to meet you in person, too, finally. Sorry it took as long as it did. We were launching a new—you know what? Doesn't matter. No excuses. Just apologies." This time, Ray does offer the flowers to her with an apologetic smile. "These are for you."

The way Ray's face falls is almost comical, and Lydia feels bad about how much better it makes her feel. She can portray herself as confident but that doesn't mean she is, so it's somewhat comforting to see Ray acting anything less than perfect. She can't help the endeared smile that crosses her face and she reaches out to take the flowers when he offers them, breathing them in and looking up at him through her lashes. "No, it's not too much at all, it's perfect. And these are wonderful, thank you. Give me a moment, let me just put them in some water before we go so they don't wilt through the night. You're welcome to come in."

She leaves the door open as she turns and moves quickly into the kitchen, grabbing a vase from under the sink and filling it with water before setting her flowers in. She picks a small pink one and moves to look at her reflection in the window to tuck it neatly in her hair, fixing it firmly before returning to him and giving him a sweet smile. He's better looking in person, and that's saying a lot considering Lydia has read all of his books and watched all of his documentaries more than once; not that she'd ever say as much. "I know that you were launching your new medi-bot, I've been reading up on it a lot," she admits with a small smile, and Lydia takes his arm when she returns to him before she starts to move with him toward the car after closing the door behind her.

"It was fascinating, I understand that you've been busy, there's no need to apologize. It's important work," she reassures him, squeezing his arm a little before her eyes move down to watch the walkway as they move. "So what's the plan?" She looks up at him, unable to keep herself from smiling a little once more when she sees his face. He really is stupidly attractive, and she still doesn't understand why she's the one on his arm right now. "Where is my future husband taking me for the night?"

In spite of the fact that she's reassuring him, Ray is pretty sure that she's humoring him and he's right: it's too much. He went a little overboard. It could be worse, maybe. There is some solace in that, at least. "Sure, thank you," he replies when she offers for him to follow her inside while she finds a place to put the flowers. Which, he realizes, starts their date off with a burden for her from him and that can't be good, can it? He really didn't think this through.

Her house is modest, but it's homey and he likes that. As he follows her through to the kitchen, Ray finds his mind wandering, wondering if she had any say in the decor in here and if not, what their home will look like when she does get a chance to choose. A look of surprise flashes over his chiseled features for a moment when she says that she already knows about the launch. Ray hadn't ever really gotten the idea that she was super thrilled about this whole arrangement — which is why he's probably trying so hard — so he hadn't really expected for her to have been following any of his work that closely. Ray knows that Lydia's interested in science, so he probably shouldn't be surprised, but it's still nice to hear and unexpected at that.

But then she goes on and Ray smiles. "You've been following Palmer Tech's progress..." he observes aloud. "I didn't think you would." Her hand on his arm is small and warm and he moves to offer it more officially to her. "We are going to dinner, first, and then I thought...if you were up for it...maybe we could take a trip to Star City so I could show you the lab... If you wanted to stay for a little while, I already booked out a suite in one of the local hotels just in case. If you're not up for it, I thought maybe we could stay here and you could show me your town. Mostly..." he says as he stops so that Lydia can lock the house up behind herself before he leads her to the limo where the driver is waiting with the back door open for them, "I thought maybe we could get to know each other. ...does...any of that sound good at all?" It's been several years since Ray has been on a first date with a woman and he didn't know, at the time, that she was going to be his wife when he had. This is foreign territory for him and he's trying to navigate it gracefully, but...well. Ray's not that graceful.

The way that Ray sounds surprised by her attentiveness to his progress in the field of science is surprisingly to Lydia; doesn't he know how passionate she is about science? He must, it's the only think Lydia can even think of that would drive him to choose her out of all of the available women out there. She's pretty, of course, and Lydia knows it, but she's not delusional; she knows that she's far from the most beautiful woman in the world, and that was literally the limit for Ray Palmer.

When he offers to take her to Star City Lydia pauses, already halfway into the limo as she stares up at him with surprise. She hasn't packed anything for an overnight stay, but a suite sounds amazing and Lydia never gets to go to the city... especially one that has Ray's lab. If she's lucky he might take her to see it, and even if he doesn't the entire situation sounds more luxurious than anything Lydia ever gets to experience. Besides, she's going to be marrying this man... now isn't the time to be shy. "I think that sounds like it could be fun," she approves, settling herself into the limo and moving aside so he can sit beside her. She can't help but look around the car with a spur of excitement that's immediately followed by a tug of disappointment; Allison would have loved this.

"I always followed Palmer Tech's progress." Lydia finally refers to his previous observation after the door is closed and she tucks her hair behind her ear with another polite smile, although there's a hint of excitement in her eye this time. "You're on the forefront of scientific advancement, if I want to know what advances we're making, Palmer Tech is the place to look, isn't that what you say?" She grins a little. "I'd like to show you around town but there's not much for me to show. This is it." She gives a lame gesture to the car window. "And I haven't seen much more than 'this', so I'd love to go into the city after dinner, if you really want to."

Ray follows Lydia into the limousine and gives his driver a little smile and nod, which leads to the driver closing the door and leaving Ray and Lydia in the back alone. The surprise on her face takes Ray off guard, mostly because he's not really sure whether it's a pleasant surprise or an Oh-God-how-do-I-talk-my-way-politely-out-of-this sort of surprise. He waits until she's settled before getting comfortable himself and Ray smiles brightly when she agrees to go back to Star City with him. Eventually, she'll be living there with him, so he's glad that she's amenable to coming along and it shows in his expression and body language, open and leaning a little bit forward toward her.

"I don't want to brag, but I think you're going to love the corporate building. Only, I can't really remember which science is your science, so you might have to refresh my memory so I leave the best lab for last. There's...so many, but...I mean, I'm mostly in the nanotechnology, but we have dozens of labs for different departments." He grins as he feels the limo starting to pull away from Lydia's home. "Oh, this is going to be so awesome, I love that you love science, too," he gushes.

Ray reaches for a little cabinet door and pulls it open, tugging the ice bucket into view. "Champagne before dinner?" he offers. "Our secret?" he adds because yes, Ray knows it's illegal to give alcohol to minors but he kind of thinks that there should be some exceptions to the rule. "And yes, well...it is what I say, but that doesn't necessarily mean you cared, or kept caring after..." He looks sheepishly at her before reaching for a glass to pour himself a drink, which he'll do once he pops the cork. "Listen, I know this is a lot and I'm sure you're wondering why you or what kind of creep I must be because of our age difference or why I'm even arranging a marriage to begin with or...you know, maybe you kind of hate all of this and you've just been incredibly kind — I'd get that, I really would — I just...you know. If you hated all of this, it would've made sense for it to turn you off to everything in any way tied to me, so...that would include Palmer Tech, you know?"

He pops the cork, carefully pointing the bottle away from Lydia and the deft movement of his hand catches the cork before it can actually go anywhere. Then, Ray pours himself a drink and looks back at her with eyebrows lifted in question: does she want one, as well? "But I'm really glad you still follow the progress and I'm glad you want to come to Star City, I'd really love for you to come out and see the facility and the labs...there's a couple of houses I've been looking at and I know it's fast, but if you were interested in having a say in that process, we can look at some of those... We could take a train to Central City, even, if you wanted to stay for a couple of days!" he blurts out, his excitement causing his words to pick up steam, coming out more quickly as he goes, "I have a few friends at S.T.A.R. Labs, I bet they'd be willing to show us around there, too; they have some incredible minds at that facility. If I thought I could get away with it, I would snatch up Cisco Ramon in a second," he laughs. "You should see what that guy can do with the—with...with...weapons. He-he, uh, Cisco develops weapons," he goes on, catching himself just before mentioning the ATOM Suit, which he has no intention of showing Lydia until he knows for sure that she's going to stick around.

The subtle changes in his demeanor aren't lost on Lydia; the way he leans forward when he's excited, and the way his words pick up speed with his excitement. It's admittedly endearing, watching a grown man act like an excitable puppy, and when he expresses his appreciation for her love of science Lydia can't help but laugh to herself with a small huff. "I'm going into biomedical engineering and biochemical engineering, I'm planning to double major. But I'm sure that I'll enjoy anything that you can show me."

She gives a small nod when he offers her champagne, that small smile returning to tilt the corners of her mouth when he insists that it'll be their secret, but it fades a little when he continues to explain that he knows how strange it seems, for him to pick her. She doesn't want to agree aloud with him, for risk of looking bad by confirming that, yes, it does seem strange and... kind of creepy, that he's chosen her to be in this limo with him. "I was surprised, I'll admit," she agrees vaguely, giving another nod when he looks at her pointedly and she reaches for a champagne flute of her own. "You're not exactly-" she jumps suddenly when he pops the cork and catches it so easily, which manages to make her smile a little once more as she holds her flute out for him. "Thank you. You're not exactly a man who must struggle with finding a decent partner if that's what you're looking for, so... no. I wasn't expecting this." To be chosen by a famous, cutting edge scientist. A man almost twice her age. She looks at him coyly. "That doesn't mean that I'm complaining, though."

After he pours her a drink Lydia brings the flute to her lips but she doesn't sip, instead looking at him in surprise before she sits up a little straighter. "What? ...You're looking at homes?" This is all happening so fast and Lydia's barely considered the fact that she's marrying this man, let alone living with him. She has to take a quick moment to mull that over... he's her fiance. This man is going to be her husband, acting like that isn't the case isn't going to get her anywhere. She relaxes, and this time she looks at him shyly. "I'd love to see the houses that you've been looking at... I honestly didn't think I would get any input. I didn't know that you worked in weapons manufacturing..." Her smile fades once more. "I thought that you focused strictly on the technological and medical side of things."

While he doesn't say it — because it'll sound conceited — Ray already knows that she'll love anything he shows her, because he doesn't show people. If someone isn't employed with Palmer Tech then they do not see the inner workings. He's careful about that because competition is stiff and other high tech companies are always trying to get a leg up on Palmer Tech. But she's going to be his wife and he hopes that they'll work side by side someday, so of course he's excited to show her, even if he should probably wait. "Biomedical!" he chirps, "I'll have to introduce you to Dr. Caitlin Snow, also a friend from S.T.A.R. Labs. Another I'd steal if I thought I could get away with it. She's also a biomedical engineer. I think you'd have a lot to talk about, the two of you."

When Lydia holds her flute out toward him, Ray smiles — albeit slightly apologetically given the fact that he didn't miss her startling from it — and pours her a drink. He appreciates that she's being honest, but Ray can't help feeling a little pang of upset when she admits what they both know: he could mostly have his pick and he's chosen her. It doesn't make sense to her because he hasn't explained and he's not really sure he ought to, because he's not sure whether that will make things better or worse. The smile falters just slightly, slipping from his eyes momentarily until she gives him that coy look. Part of him wonders if that's an act because she's resigned herself and she's trying to make this as painless as possible, but Ray tries to tell himself that she doesn't have any reason to be coy when civil would suffice if that was the case.

Putting the champagne bottle into its bucket of ice, pushing it down to make sure it doesn't tip, Ray takes a sip of his own drink to buy himself a few seconds. "I'm going to be honest...you know you're beautiful. That's not a secret. And while I'm proud to say that I'm not shallow enough for that to be the sole reason for my choice, I have to admit that it played a hand. Mostly, though," he says with stark honesty etched into his features, "you're incredibly brilliant. And I'm...burning out. I could use a fresh new mind at the lab and I just thought...how great would it be for my life partner, my wife, to share my interests and have the same zeal for making the world a better place through scientific advancements? Women in STEM fields are hard to come by, but trying to find a woman in STEM fields as intelligent and pretty as you are is like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

He pauses. "...I want you to know that if you decide you don't want this...or me, or..." he gives a vague gesture with his hand to fill in the blank space he isn't sure how to fill in, "it's okay. I'm not, you know...I'm not looking to force you into something and if pressure from your family is playing in, I want you to know that if this doesn't work or you decide it's just not for you, I'm not...you know, I'm not going to take the dowry back." He isn't sure whether she knows what the dowry is, but it's her tuition. Any school she wants, he's agreed with her mother that he'll fund it. "But I appreciate that you're willing to give this a chance if nothing else. So of course I want your input on where we'll live and, all right, full disclosure: yeah, it's early that I'm looking at houses, but I also only live in an apartment right now so I was planning on looking anyway. I hope you don't feel extra pressure because I mentioned house hunting. I'm buying a house either way this goes, I'd just...really like for it to be for us instead of for me."

Taking another drink, Ray shakes his head. "Oh, I don't. I don't work with weapons manufacturing at all and I do focus strictly on tech and medical," he replies. "My CEO has friends at S.T.A.R. and I needed a little help with some of the nanotech I was integrating into a project, so she suggested I talk to Cisco." Technically that's true. The ATOM Suit is a weapon, of course, but it isn't his focus and Palmer Tech doesn't work on it; Ray does. It's for him specifically; not for mass production.

Despite the fact that, yes, Lydia knows that she's beautiful, to hear Ray say so aloud brings a small smile to her face that she modestly tries to hide by looking down at her glass. She understands what he means; no, he's not shallow. Physical attraction matters, though, in Lydia's opinion. It's not the most important thing, but it is important, and she's always viewed those who vehemently disagree to be liars vying for approval. She looks back up at him when he clarifies that what he truly wants is a partner who can help him make the world a better place, and although she doesn't admit it aloud, Lydia feels a small ping of relief deep within her chest. In the end, they have the same goal. That's much more comforting to her than knowing that Ray is attracted to her, and knowing that he's attracted to her is definitely comforting whether he knows it or not.

She lets him finish, swirling her champagne around her flute with a steady hand as she listens, and once he does she glances back down to take another sip. His comment about the dowry is nice, and she completely understands why he feels the need to clarify... but she doesn't like it. "When it comes to an arrangement there's bound to be pressure put on one or both parties," she begins, the natural rasp of her voice more audible now that she's not trying so hard to sound passive, or professional, "And I appreciate you saying that. But I'm not that person." She looks at him with eyes that are more quizzical than intense, as if she's reading him as she speaks. "My family can try to convince me and the dowry can be nice," not that she knows what it is, "but I'm never going to do something that I don't want to do. I'm not here for a dowry." The corners of her mouth crack upward in a tiny smile.

"I'm here because you're Ray Palmer. I don't mean because your name is on the side of a building, or anything like that." She waves her hand a little with a paired shake of her head and a facial shrug. "Status isn't really something I care about anymore, I went through that phase a long time ago. I mean, you're Ray Palmer. You use everything that you learn to help people and make the world a better place for those who can't do it themselves. I want to do that." She falls silent long enough to chew the corner of her lip nervously and shrug. "It's hard to get out of Beacon Hills. I can't help people while I'm stuck there, and..." she trails off before looking at him once more. "...the idea of having a husband who does exactly what I've always wanted to do, who can understand that type of drive? It's too good to pass up. I'm not here for a dowry, I'm here because I want to be. If I didn't, I wouldn't have even left the house." That teasing look returns to her eye. "So don't worry about that. And it was a good call to make, I'd probably go crazy redecorating if we moved into a home that I didn't like."

Her brow furrows a little after she takes another sip, and Lydia stares down at her champagne glass for a few seconds before she finally decides to continue with her honest streak, and she looks up at him. "Are you sure that working on nanotech integration with a weapons manufacturer is a good idea? That can get very dangerous very fast, no?"

She's quiet until he finishes his peace and while Ray appreciates that, it also, to some degree, makes him a little nervous because he's wondering what she's thinking. Luckily, he doesn't have to wait very long before he gets an answer. It isn't exactly what he'd been expecting, because it implies that she's a lot more okay with this arrangement than Ray was starting to think she might be. That's a bigger relief than she probably knows, coming straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, like that. He certainly doesn't want to be that husband, after all.

So his body language becomes visibly more relaxed hearing that she's just as interested in giving this upcoming marriage a chance and he nods a little when she specifies that she's less interested in his technological empire and more interested in what him owning that means; what she can do to help the world. Ray wants to put Palmer Tech at her fingertips and she's been reaching for it the whole time, without his realizing. Now, he feels that much better about his decision. She was and still is the right choice for him.

"I'm really, really glad to hear that," he says sincerely with a smile. "You have no idea how much of a relief that is to hear," he adds. Having a partner who truly is on the same page with his drive to improve the quality of life of the people in the world he loves so much, starting with the city he loves even more, is all Ray could've asked for.

Her concern with Cisco's involvement is fair enough and Ray knows it's coming from a place of being on the outside and not knowing the whole situation. He can't share it right now, but he makes a mental note to fully explain it someday. "No, they're not really in the business of weapons manufacturing anymore after...the last owner and all that happened there. Cisco is good people. He wasn't working on the project so much as being sort of a consultant to me for the engineering portion of what I'd been trying to do. Actually, working with him sort of set the wheels in motion for me deciding to integrate nanotech into that project at all, which worked out especially well. But yeah, no, the guys at STAR Labs are great. They're here to help their city just as much as I am to help mine. I promise, you'll understand when you meet them."

Despite the fact that Ray outright says that he's relieved by her desire to integrate herself into the world of scientific advancement, she really believes him because of the way she can see physical tension melting out of his body. It's still so strange to her to think of him as being nervous around her, and although it makes Lydia feel bad for finding it endearing, she does. "Ray." She shifts a little to place her glass down in a holder to make sure that it doesn't fall over before she reaches out, and she places a respectful but hopefully comforting hand on his knee.

"I know that you're nervous and so am I but everything that's going on in your head, you don't need to worry about it. I'm here because I want to be. If there was anything about this that made me uncomfortable I wouldn't be in this car with you, believe me. I'm here to have a good time with you and get to know you, we're getting married." She lets her hand fall away and she instead picks up her glass again. "We'll worry about business and appearances and everything like that later, but right now I'm here because I want to get to know you. So just relax." Her smile returns, and this time it's paired with a glint of genuine hope in her eye. "I'm already having a really good time."

She nods when he explains Cisco in a little more detail and she gives a little facial shrug of agreement; she can't judge until she meets the people that Ray is talking about, and although she doesn't know him all that well yet, she feels like doing business with an active weapons manufacturer is very out of character for him. "I'm looking forward to meeting them, then. I've never really gotten the chance to be around other - well, to be around actual scientists." She corrects herself sheepishly. She's not a scientist yet, but she'll get there. She's sure that jumping into the world of Ray Palmer head first is going to be a lot more overwhelming than she would like, and she's probably going to hate feeling like she's not the smartest person in the room. That being said, she's not the smartest person in this car anymore, and she's handling that well so far.

"Are you looking at houses, or condos as well?" She sips her drink, glancing out of the window thoughtfully before looking back at him. "I feel like it might be more convenient if we lived closer to Palmer Tech in the city, no? Or do you prefer something more suburban? I don't want to be difficult but I think it would be best if we were somewhere that was at least somewhat close to both a university and the office, I'm going to be running around to both locations a lot once school starts." Lydia gives a dramatic toss of her hair that she pairs with a playful, lofty tone. "The wife of Doctor Ray Palmer needs a degree if she's going to be taken seriously, you know."

It's a little funny that the younger of the two of them — the one who would appear to have less control of the situation at hand — is the one who is doling out the reassurances here. The irony of that is far from lost on Ray and he smiles a little. A large part of him wants to put his hand over hers so that the reassuring gesture can go both ways, but he refrains, not wanting to spook her. She might want to be here according to her words, but that doesn't mean she'll be comfortable with physical contact that isn't directly on her terms and Ray can respect that. It is, however, a relief to know that she's already having a good time, because that's one of the things that concerned Ray most.

"I'm glad," he says sincerely. "Because honestly, beyond getting to know you better, that's all I want. I want for you to be enjoying yourself. None of this is really worth it if we aren't both feeling that way, you know? So I appreciate you saying that, Lydia. I honestly do."

He can't help the little grin of amusement that tugs at the corners of her mouth when she says she hasn't had the chance to be around other scientists before. "You're a scientist," he corrects her. "By definition, a scientist is someone who is studying or has expertise in one or several fields of science. Don't cut yourself short. You might not have your degree yet, but that doesn't make you any less of a scientist than any of the rest of us. It just makes your salary a hell of a lot lower," he says playfully. That'll change. Even being married to him, Ray intends to let Lydia have her own assets and he intends to keep some of his own. The lawyer has insisted on a prenup and that's fine with Ray if it's fine with her; he's all for joining together but he also understands that they're both individuals and independent ones at that. There's no need to throw all of their financials together. Ray's thinking perhaps, when the time comes, they can discuss each having their own separate account as well as a joint one that they can funnel some of their own incomes into for things like the house, bills, saving up for college funds for the children he hopes they have some day. Dual purchases and financial responsibilities, basically, while also each having funds of their own with which they can do whatever they want. If she wants to join everything, he's not against it, but she's losing enough of her independence by even being in this arrangement at all in the first place. The least he can do is offer her an option to hold onto something that's just for her.

"I've been looking at both, actually," he replies. "I'm not above buying one of each. Something in the city would be nice for now and then something to settle into later on, after you've finished school and things sort of calm down. I wouldn't want to potentially raise a family in a condo, for example, or retire in one. But for the foreseeable future, I'm not very picky about where we decide to settle or what kind of unit that happens to be. So you're not being difficult. We can always add more appointments to the day tomorrow. My realtor had plenty of options, but I didn't really see the point in looking at everything she had to offer all by myself when it's not necessarily just going to be a place where I'll live, you know?"

He smirks a little and then laughs as she tosses her hair. "Yes, well, I am never going to be the one to hold you back from getting your degree and while I'm perfectly happy to make sure you have a place at Palmer Tech, I'm really not looking to limit your academic potential by saddling you with a nine-to-five. If you want to work while you're at school, I'm not going to tell you no or stand in your way, but I would just as soon let you intern in the lab of your choice with flexible hours letting you kind of come and go as you please, so that you're getting the experience you want without compromising your sanity while trying to juggle academia and the job. But it's up to you." He pauses. "I think even without the degree, you're one of the more intelligent people I've met; I don't see there being any issue with lack of respect in that regard. I think you can more than hold your own with a lot of the staff. Plus, nobody I employ is dumb enough not to take the boss's wife seriously," he adds with a little wink.

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Lydia Martin

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