She was idly sitting by the pool, it was getting late but she still wore her sunglasses and read her book. She felt him approach and left down her book "Hey Richie".
"Hey Katie Cakes, please tell me that's not the swimsuit I first met you in" He groaned.
"No but it looks close right" She replied smiling "I couldn't resist when I saw it. I was feeling oddly nostalgic, is that really fucked up or what?".
"Well, I'm not sure its normal Kate, but what the fuck is anymore? not that I ever had that great a grasp on what normal ever was in the first place" Richard said blandly back
"Well at least you don't look like a bible salesman this time" looking over at him wearing his dark jeans and nice shirt "when is Seth going to be down?".
"Don't worry your lover boy with be down to you soon" Richard said with a light laugh.
"Ew that just sounds wrong talking when about Seth. You gotta at least give him lover man" Kate replied with a grin.
Richard snorted "Hey Seth's the one shacking up with a teenager".
"Fuck off Richard, I'm not a teenager… anymore at least and if I remember correctly you were the one who kissed me first when I was underage".
"I think you are misremembering that Kate, you kissed me?" He said with a smirk pointing back at her. She chuckled.
"Yeah well you kissed me back, and that was all part of my cunning play to get the keys to the RV" Kate said with a triumphant grin that Richard returned.
"Yeah, yeah Katie whatever you have to tell yourself" he said looking out over the pool at the last of the dwindling light.
"Any sign of Kisa?" Kate asked unsure of what exactly had happened there.
"Kisa and I are done, we had different goals to put it mildly" he said with a light shrug but it looked forced and a little stiff.
"If it helps I do think she loved you in her own way, but I'm sorry, I really want do you to be happy you know" She said feeling a little guilty about some of the things she had said to him as she was dying. Guilty mostly at the fact that she had meant every word at the time. Times change though.
"After the things, I've done, done to you even, how the fuck do you keeping doing that?".
"Do what?" She looked at him confused and he smiled gently back at her.
"Forgive people, who really don't deserve it".
"I forgive the people I love Richard, and I fucked up plenty too" She replied sadly looking down at her hands tracing the scars Amaru had left on her once soft skin. They would never completely heal and she was considering getting a tattoo over them just like Seth had over his.
"None of that was your fault, those decisions were forced on you" Richard offered sincerely.
"You know that's only partially true, you better than anyone else. I made decisions that led me to where I ended up. I may not be responsible for how Amaru used me but I got myself to that point all on my own" she said with a long sigh.
"We all got you to that point Katie, we are all more than a little responsible. You are so quick to forgive us, how about forgiving yourself a little. You are the best and strongest of all of us after all" He looked at her kindly and she gave him a little sweet smile that reminded him of the old Kate, the Kate he had first met by that pool years ago now.
"Kate, I am happy you know. This, the three of us. It's happier than I ever expected to be" Richard gestured around them.
They heard footsteps behind them and Seth leaned over and kissed Kate lightly on the lips. "What have you too been talking about?". "Old times" they said eerily in sync back. Seth blinked at that response but smiled "You better get dressed princess; pretty sure they won't serve us if you're in a bikini. It's not that kind of place".
She laughed and nodded and left them to get dressed for dinner.