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Or, that. [Kate trying not to look too pleased with this plan, lest he think she hates his ties normally. She likes the suit okay, but mixing things up wouldn't hurt.]

I'll leave the suit wearing to you and Seth. [Mildly amused.]

Well you did say a few outfits. [And she didn't intend to go quite so easy on him with the others.] You sure you wanna do this now? Or baby steps?

Except he half-asses it a half the time.

[Just saying.

His eyebrow lifts further.]

You make it sound like we're going to the gallows or something. I think I can handle it.

[Instead of arguing, Kate just fixes Richie with a 'look, because please. He's not even here and you're bickering with him.

You really are both as bad as each other.]

Okaaaay. [Making a show of seeming skeptical. She figured the more she seemed to doubt he'd wear something, the less arguments she might get.

She's not going to be too awful however, Kate moving back and forth from the bed and the closet as she pieces together another outfit.]

It's a little more casual but? [Eyebrows raising as she lays a leather jacket alongside the rest of it.]

[He falls for it, hook-line-and-sinker.]

No, I can definitely pull off badass black leather, alright. [He looks impressed, honestly.] What else you got?

[Clearly he just wants to be intimidating. It's fine.]

[Badass black leather really wasn't going to help him appear more approachable. What she had in mind would but she was pretty sure he was going to laugh her out of his bedroom when she suggested it. Which was why this;]

Well... I mean there was something I saw that would look real great on you... [He should know that the syrupy sweet sound of her southern accent was setting him up for trouble.]

But - [Her nose wrinkles, Kate looking properly disappointed as she continues.] I don't know. You're probably just goin' to say no.

[He seems basically oblivious to her manipulation, and he rolls his eyes slightly as he gestures for her to just bring it out.]

Just show it to me.

[Kate saves her smile for when she has her back to him, pulling out another set of clothes from the closet. She's smart enough not to carry it over to the bed piece by piece, not wanting to have too much time to think about it.

She gently laid out a challenge and now she just had to see if it pays off.]

Well?

[Okay, give him a second.

He looks over at her, skeptical for a moment, then realizes....the kinds of things he sees her wear every day.

This is 'normal' to her, it's just not normal to him. Then again, he knows damn well he's pretty far from normal.

He hesitates a moment before:]

You're not going to try to make we wear a hat, are you?

[Her nose wrinkles and she's quick to shake her head.]

No. [I mean... he'd look good in a hat but she also knows who she's dealing with here.] And... you don't have to dress like this all the time or anything I just, would like to see you in it.

[If it helps? That was completely the truth. She didn't want to try and turn him into one of the guys from her hometown, but that didn't mean she wouldn't like to see him dress in a way that felt almost like home to her. ]

[Maybe next Halloween he'll dress up as a baseball player or something. But he's kind of attached to his hair.

Finally, he shrugs. If it'll make her happy, he can deal with it. Besides, she's right. Fitting in might get him farther with the people that actually live here. This isn't the Culebra underworld.]

When in Rome, right?

[Or Wonderland, in this case.]

[Despite her subtle manipulations, she had fully expected him to push back on the last one, had been prepared to go back and choose something that was a little more Richie and a lot less Bethel.

That's why, when he agrees, a wide grin lights up her face, Kate closing the distance between them and moving between his legs. With a hand on his cheek, she tilts his head up, her lips brushing against his in a sweet yet simple kiss.

Open affection like this was still uncertain if anything, but in moments like this one? She stopped thinking and just acted.]

Right. [A thumb running along his cheek bone as she straightens and looks down on him.]

[Oh. Hello.

His hands settle on her waist, and his head moves where she guides it, returning the kiss with similar simplicity, his head tilting into her hand until she pulls away.]

I haven't even put anything on yet.

[Nope. He sure hasn't. He sure is still damp and only wearing sweatpants.

This is fine.]

No, but you will. [She's not even trying to manipulate him with rewards, the smile she wears genuine, Kate's hand moving from his cheek to run her fingers through his damp hair.]

[I mean, they've been in more compromising situations.]

Which one do you want me to start with?

[As he sits here and quietly enjoys her running her hands through his hair.]

[But then it was dark and there were blankets, okay.

Eyebrows raising, as her other hand now moves to join in the touching.]

Are you sure you want me to answer that? [Because, of course she wants to see him in the last outfit, but she knows it's Richie, so.]

I did ask, didn't I?

[Just saying. Though, really, that tells him all he needs to know.]

Or I could just stay like this for awhile.

[Yes, yes he could do that and Kate is a little unimpressed that there's light in the room because she can't exactly disguise the hint of pink in her cheeks.]

You could, do that too... [And she's tempted, God, how she is tempted when he looks like he does right now, but if anything? What would come next would probably be safer if he had more clothes on, not less.]

But if you ever want to leave this room you should... probably... put on clothes.

[His eyebrows lift because, despite having said that, she hasn't actually...moved.]

Are you gonna watch me?

Oh - [Right. Yes. That. She'll just um, pull away now and point towards what she supposed could be best described as their living room.]

I'll just be out... there.

I'll be out in a minute.

[He doesn't really wait for her to completely leave, instead leaning over to grab the shirt and start threading his arms through the sleeves.]

[Meanwhile Kate's just going to flop back down on the couch in the exact same spot she'd been in when he'd first come out.]

[He comes out a few minutes later, completely dressed, including shoes, with the jacket halfway zipped up.

For what it's worth, he doesn't look terribly uncomfortable or anything, though he does lift his eyes from himself to her eyes to catch her expression, his eyebrows climbing as he watches her expectantly.]

[He gets rewarded with a smile that lights up her whole face, something close to awe in her eyes, but there's warmth there too as Kate sits up, her gaze raking over him as if trying to commit every detail to memory.]

You look great. [And he did, though at least part of her awe is an excitement to both see him in anything that wasn't a suit, and because he looked like he could walk down the street of Bethel and be right at home there.]

But how much do you hate it? [And to be fair, she adds;] Really?

[Well that's...a look. Okay.

Going with it.]

I don't hate it. [He's quick to point that out, at least. He says it rather casually even, though he seems to debate something before he walks over and sits next to her, gesturing with his hands as he speaks.] In my line of work, I guess you could say, first impressions are really important. If you don't meet a certain standard, no one takes you seriously.

[He leans back against the couch.]

But you're right. We're not dealing with those kinds of people. We've been here long enough to know that. I'm just not used to it.

[There's a faint, almost amused smile on her lips as he speaks, the slightest raise of her eyebrows. She was very used to being the Preachers Daughter. Everyone in Bethel knew who she was but she hadn't been that girl for quite some time.

People didn't know who her Daddy had been and they still looked at her like she was some sweet, innocent little god-fearing girl who always minded her manners and would never do anything wrong.]

I might know a thing or two about not being taken seriously based on first impressions. [She understood what he was saying though and she even gets that for him, this was hard for so many reasons.]

If it helps? Think of it, kinda the same way? [Kate's body turning towards him as she shifts on the couch.] Except, instead of trying to get people to take you seriously, you're trying to make sure people don't take you too seriously.

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