The three couples agreed to meet in about an hour at a restaurant Ray made reservations at.
Barry grabbed Parker and sped her back to her apartment.
"Felicity is probably going to look hot again.. Should I try to?"
"YES!" Barry yelled. "I mean.. Yes, honey. That would be pleasing to my eyes."
Parker went into the depths of her closet to find a fancy dress. She found the perfect one: a tight, strapless, white dress with black strips of fabric crossing in an 'x' over the breasts. She pulled it over her hips and let the top half rest over, leaving her stomach and bra exposed.
She moved into the bathroom, applying the necessary make-up. Her lips were a cherry red, her nails matched and she perfected the black eyeshadow already on her eyelids.
While waiting for the curling iron to heat, Parker noticed the quiet in her apartment.
"Barry!" she called. "It's been fifteen minutes and you still haven't made any noise."
As if on cue, music started to play. Barry's shoes clicked against the hardwood floor. He slid into view, a remote control serving as his microphone. His other hand was respectfully over the left side of his chest.
"Don't go breaking my heart," he sang, holding the 'microphone' to Parker.
Rhythmically shaking her hips , she sang, "I couldn't if I tried.."
The two went back and forth, singing, dancing, laughing.
There were a few times Parker burned her hands, trying to do all three things and also successfully curl her black strands of hair.
Barry distracting her wasn't exactly making the hair curling process easy, but Parker was having so much fun she didn't complain.
Six songs later, Parker's hair was ready. She unplugged the curler, pinned her bangs to the side of her head and had Barry pull the zipper the remaining distance on her dress.
"Shoes," Barry reminded her.
Parker laughed, patting his cheek affectionately. "Good job. If you hadn't told me, I seriously would have walked out shoeless."
To complete the outfit, hooker heels would have been ideal. However, Parker was not about that life. She slipped her feet into ballerina flats, sprayed a spritz of perfume onto her collarbone and shrugged on a pea coat.
"Okay, weirdo. We're taking a cab to the restaurant, there is no way I'm letting you fuck up my hair."
"Deal. My hair needs to stay in place too," Barry admitted, playing with his hair in the mirror. There was one strand that wouldn't stick.
Parker grabbed his tie, pulling until he was bent at her height. She licked her thumb and held the hair down. It was successful when she pulled away.
Barry turned to the mirror and gave himself a thumbs up. Remembering, Parker was there, his eyes widened.
She chuckled. "Cutie."
The couple hailed a cab outside her apartment. When they arrived, the restaurant looked empty, especially for being almost seven at night. That was usually the dinner. As they climbed out of the cab, it seemed the two had similar thoughts.
"Either this place sucks.." Parker mumbled.
"Or Ray bought it out," Barry said.
Parker raised her eyebrows thoughtfully, admitting that was a good theory. Barry held open the door for her and she waltzed in, running past the boys and straight to the other two girls.
"Parker, you look so beautiful," Iris complimented.
"As do you two. But really, this feels so nice. I never get to dress up," Parker squealed quietly, not wanting the boys to hear her confession.
"I guess we'll just have to go party more often," Iris said, anticipation filling her features.
Felicity and Parker eagerly nodded. Cutting their conversations up, a well-dressed waiter came from around the corner.
"If you will all follow me," he said.
With Ray and Felicity leading the way, the couples were introduced to the restaurant dining hall, which was completely empty and untouched, excluding one table.
"I thought it would be nice if it was quiet, so I bought out the entire restaurant," Ray said, like it wasn't a big deal.
Parker and Barry looked at each other, amused smiles on their lips.
Ray caught their exchange and winced. "Too much?" he whispered to Felicity.
"Just a tad, sweetie," Felicity admitted.
Barry shrugged his coat off and set it on the chair beside Eddie, then helped Parker take her coat off and pulled back her chair. She sent him a thankful smile, but was more into her talk with Felicity, who sat on her other side.
Once all six were seated, the side conversations ended.
Coincidentally, a conversation starter, and also a inquiry on everyone's mind, Felicity asked the inevitable question: "So, how did you two meet?"
Barry spoke first. "Park and I have known each other since elementary. Didn't really connect until after she came back from college."
Parker took a sip of her martini and gave a thumbs up, confirming his story. The spotlight moved to Felicity and Ray.
"I actually bought the company that Felicity was employed at, so she was forced to join me at Palmer Industries," Ray explained.
"Not as creepy as it sounds," Felicity added with a smile.
"So, you two work closely?" Iris asked. Felicity nodded. "Wow. I guess you two share all your thoughts, feelings.."
Parker groaned under her breath. She should have predicted Iris was going to keep adding argument points in the fight with Eddie. Iris was the type of person to not postpone a fight, not even on a triple date.
"Yeah, I share everything with Felicity," Ray said.
Parker raised an eyebrow, having to hold back some immature comments that automatically came to her dirty mind.
"That's nice that you have that level of communication," Iris complimented again, glancing at Eddie with a fake grin.
That's when Felicity caught on to the double meaning behind Iris' words. Her eyes turned to a low level of panic, trying to help Eddie. "Oh, no, not everything. I mean, sometimes it's good to just shut up."
"I get that," Eddie said. "Some things are better left unspoken."
"Really? Because I don't find that to be true."
Her face blank, Parker made a quiet noise of pain. Not physical pain but mental, because she couldn't believe that was how the evening was going to be. It seemed she couldn't have one drama/action free night anymore.
Barry, leaning away from the table to look around the room for something else to focus on, let out an audible relieved sigh. "It's the food. The food is here. Oh, thank God."
It was food, however at the same time, everyone who wasn't Ray Palmer was staring skeptically at their plates. The square of food was no bigger than Parker's thumb and pointer finger shaped into a circle. (The only reason she knew was because she actually measured.) The waiter introduced the tiny chunk of food as the first course.
"Barry, Parker," Ray called, grabbing their attention. "I have to admit, I envy how much time you two spend at S.T.A.R. Labs. Harrison Wells is a personal hero of mine. It's an honor to be in the same room with him."
Barry paused. He distracted himself by fixing his napkin over his lap, nodding like he was listening.
Parker knew he was trying to be polite, because it was unknown to Ray of the negative memories that name brought.
Unfortunately, Barry couldn't handle it and excused himself.
Parker and Felicity locked eyes. Parker's eyes flickered to the direction of Barry's retreat, silently telling Felicity it was her chance to calm him down. There was only so much Parker could say to help him get his mind off the topic before it became repetitive.
"And I have to pee," Felicity excused herself too.
Parker decided to ease the spotlight off the two weirdos. "Working at the Lab is actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Everyone's pretty cool."
"And what do you do there?" Ray wondered.
Iris looked at Parker, interested in the answer.
Lucky for Parker, she practiced the answer on the ride there. "Manage Barry, mostly. Like restraining him from doing certain things, due to his.. Lightning Psychosis. I draw designs for Cisco's mechanical ideas, sew stuff.. I dabble in a lot."
Parker and Ray dove into their own conversation about S.T.A.R. Labs. For the first time, Parker actually learned what the abbreviation stood for: Science and Technology Advanced Research Laboratories.
"Please, can we just have a nice evening?" Eddie asked Iris, a little harsh and loud. He accidentally attracted Ray and Parker's attention, although Iris and him didn't notice.
"Okay, so it's my fault we're not having a nice evening?"
Parker started to make noises with her mouth to tune out the awkward.
Ray adjusted the sleeves of his suit. "I think I'm going to go see where Felicity and Barry are. Excuse me."
"Please don't leave me alone here for very long," Parker begged quietly.
Ray gave her a thumbs up and jogged into the opposite room. Not thirty seconds later, he came back with their partners. Barry found Parker's eyes, which clearly read, help.
"And, suddenly, I'm not hungry," Iris said, getting to her feet. "When you're ready to act like two people who love each other, call me."
Eddie's shoulders dropped. Realizing his audience, he gave a wry smile. "Thank you for dinner. I think I'm just going to go.." and he left too, trudging like a sad puppy.
"Emergency at S.T.A.R. Labs," Barry announced, scrolling through his phone.
"Good frickin' Lord, can we have one date that isn't interrupted?" Parker shouted, tossing her napkin onto the table. She slouched in the chair, completely done with the night.
Barry ran behind her, his arm stretching around her head and tilting her chin up, obnoxiously kissing her lips. They disconnected with a loud smack.
"You should sort of expect it now, shouldn't you?" he teased.
"Ah, shut up and go save our friends."
Parker, Ray and Felicity tried to resume dinner. Felicity managed to get three minutes into the first explanation of why the League of Assassins wanted Oliver before the three of them were sent multiple text messages from Barry:
Come to the Lab
Like now
ASAP. BIG NEWS
Didn't actually mean to put it in caps. Sorry for sounding angry. Please come, my love. And the other two
"Ha, guess who's the favorite?" Parker teased.
Ray canceled the rest of the meals. Parker felt bad for having him waste all the money on renting the restaurant and only use it to argue.
That's why she paid for the cab ride to S.T.A.R. Labs. To ensure Ray wouldn't shove money at the driver at the last second, Parker punched his leg and made him pinky-promise he wouldn't. Since Ray wasn't one for breaking promises, he obeyed.
Cisco, Dr.Wells, Caitlin and Barry lingered around the two computers in the corner of the Lab. Parker's face scrunched instantly and she turned to the other computer desk, finding a sizzling hole in the middle of it.
"Um..?" she asked.
"A rogue bee was trapped in Barry's suit. It's over here. The bot has a three hundred and sixty degree vision system. We're talking multiple micro cameras coming from different angles at the same time, which means--"
"It can see all around the room at once. That is.." Ray paused, eyes wide with fascination. "Amazing," Cisco and Ray chorused.
"Disturbing?" Caitlin and Parker said together. Parker continued. "What if it's still on? Whoever's on the other side can see us."
"It's also a next generation hardware that's not on the market," Dr.Wells pointed out.
"So, we're not dealing with a meta?" Felicity asked, looking for confirmation.
Barry nodded. "We're dealing with a mad scientist."
"Cisco, you said the second victim was a robotics engineer. Let's cross reference his past employers with the first victims."
"Allow me!" Felicity shouted, running and sitting in the empty computer seat. "Mama has been away from the keyboard for far too long."
"Both worked at Mercury," Cisco read when Felicity was finished.
"Let's call Joe. I think it's time we visited an old friend.."