"Bond." Ray said straightening his bow tie. "James Bond."

Iris came into the room. "Can you zip up my dress?" She turned her back to him. Ray turned away from his reflection and did a double take. She let out a small laugh. "I take it I look good." She said.

"So good." Ray agreed, before blushing and turning away.

"Ray." Iris said.

"Hm?"

"Zip." Ray ran his fingers along her back. Iris felt his breath on her neck. "Ray," she prompted. Sip it now before we both do something that ends up making us very late, she thought to herself. It seemed Ray was having the same thought, because he let out a loud sigh and began zipping the dress.

"Much as I would like to be doing the opposite of this," he muttered, "Sydney would ever let me hear the end of it if i was late to his stupid dinner."

Iris smiled and turned. "You know, it's kinda weird that we've been dating for 5 months and you've never mentioned your brother."

"There's a good reason." Ray muttered, crossing his arms. "Whatever he says tonight; he's awful."

Iris laughed.

"I'm serious." He said. "My parents are going to be fawning over his ..." He broke off, looking thoughtful. "I'd say accomplishments, but he doesn't have anything. He's the penultimate rich douchebag."

Iris put her hands on his shoulders and waited for him to sigh and look down at her before saying. "I'm sure he can't be that bad."

"Yes he is." Ray mumbled.

"And because I love you I'm going to present a united front tonight and wait till we're home to rip you a new one about not telling me about your family." She added. "I'm serious." Ray's face was one of shock. "When we get back, I will not go easy on you."

"Oh...um...of course not." He cleared his throat. "We should...we should probably go." He offered his arm. Iris wondered what made him so nervous, but chalked it up to his nerves about his family. It wasn't until she was sitting in the car, next to him that she realized what she'd said...and that he hadn't said it back.

Sydney was the worst. Iris determined this after having known him for two minutes. He was also jealous of Ray, a fact which her boyfriend was adorably oblivious of. Ray's parents were cautiously welcoming. She got the feeling that they were worried and judging about their comments on Central City, she figured she knew exactly what they were talking about; the last woman Ray had introduced them to was Anna...who he'd loved and lost because of the dangers of the city. She looked down at her plate, avoiding the looks Sydney was throwing her. Ray frowned.

"So, Sydney...how's the music going?" Ray asked, looking over at his brother before turning to Iris. "Sydney took up the guitar last year because he wants to be a singer."

"Oh." Iris said. Sydney glared at him, Ray smirked.

"Sydney's very talented." Ray's mother supplied.

"I'm sure." Iris said. "My friend Cisco's brother is a pianist. Maybe I should introduce you."

Sydney gave her a condescending nod.

"So Iris." Mrs. Palmer said. "Ray tells us you're a journalist."

"Yes." She smiled. "I write for Central City Picture News."

"Ah." Mrs. Palmer's smile never wavered, but her eyes gave her away. She didn't approve. Ray must have caught it too because he frowned.

"And what do your parents do?" Mr. Palmer asked.

"Dad, this isn't an interrogation." Ray growled.

"We just want to get to know the young lady you've brought to dinner." Mr. Palmer said. "She doesn't mind."

"My dad's a police officer." Iris said. "A detective."

"And your mother?"

Iris had been dreading the question. Under the table Ray put his hand on her leg and squeezed. "She's...um." She cleared her throat.

"Iris you don't have to answer that." Ray said.

"She's dead." Iris said.

Silence fell.

"Nice going." Ray growled.

"Raymond." His mother said. "How were we supposed to know?"

"Because I told you." Ray said. "It was on the list of topics to avoid to make sure this wasn't awkward."

"Wait." Iris looked at him. "There was a list?"

Ray gulped. "To be fair everything else on the list involved embarrassing childhood moments." He frowned at his parents. "You never listen to me and now you're being rude to Iris."

"Ray." Iris put her hand on his arm.

"No, this isn't okay." Ray said, standing up and leaving the room. Iris excused herself and followed.

"Ray." She began as she walked into the sitting room where he was glaring out the window. "This place is huge." She muttered.

"Don't try to rationalize this, Iris." Ray muttered. "They're..."

"Stuck up." Iris said. "And probably slightly racist." Ray raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Ray. Your mom apologized for having the chicken grilled not fried within the first 5 minutes of meeting me." Ray winced.

"It's just..." He sighed. "I was hoping that they would act differently. I love you and I thought that they'd respect that."

Iris ducked her head. "Well they may be awful, but they raised you...and despite all odds you're amazing." She hugged him. "And Sydney is the worst."

"Right?" Ray said. "I'll grab your coat and we're leaving...without saying goodbye."

"Well aren't you a rebel?" Iris said, "I go start the getaway car."

Ray gave her a kiss and handed her the keys. "The Kirk to my Spock."

Iris snorted. "While I grew up with a nerd and understood the nuance of that reference this situation calls for Bonnie and Clyde."

Ray smiled and left. Iris walked out to the car. Sydney was leaning against it.

"So." He said.

"Hello Sydney." Iris said.

"Look, you're not what my parents want for Ray."

She crossed her arms and glared. He held up his hand.

"But you make him happy." He sighed. "So even if you're at best an 8, you shouldn't let our parents get to you. Ray managed to survive their crazy and be a semi functioning member of society. So..." He shrugged. "As long as my little bro loves you, I like you."

"Thank you?" Iris said, frowning. "I think."

"Everything okay?" Ray walked over, Sydney nodded.

"See ya bro." He said, giving him a smack on the back.

"So..." Ray said on the drive back. "It's occurred to me that you said you loved me."

Iris nodded. "So did you."

"Yeah." Ray said. "But you said it first."

"You meant it more." Iris said. "Right? I mean you didn't say it back when I said it first."

He nodded. "I was...nervous." He admitted. "And I thought if I just said it back to you that it wouldn't be genuine. So it...came out when I was upset and therefore ruined it."

"No you didn't." She said. "I love you...even if your family's crazy."

Ray smiled. "Can we go over to your family's house for real dinner?" He asked. "I like how normal they are."

Iris laughed. "My adopted brother's the flash and my newly discovered younger brother's an illegal drag racer."

"And the man you love is the Atom." Ray said.

Iris rolled her eyes. "You're going to milk this for all it's worth."

"You love me." Ray replied.