Lydia Martin

[baneofpaley]

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FEEL FREE TO DROP A STARTER OR SUGGEST A LINE WITH LYDIA HERE. PROSE, ACTION AND TEXT ARE ALL WELCOME, M/F ONLY FOR SHIPPING PLEASE. BELOW ARE SOME AU'S/THEMES I LIKE TO PLAY WITH HER:

Arranged Marriage Share the Bed Soulmates code by tessisamess

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[parvos]

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.

[thewailingwoman]

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?"

[parvos]

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."

[thewailingwoman]

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."

[parvos]

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.