A little AU ending for the first-times challenge on pirates500.

Kris stopped taking slaves to his bed after his father died; he let them think it was grief, and then he let them think it was the burden of ruling, but he'd hated it all along.

In which various people become various things they weren't before.

It just wasn't like that.

"Megan!" Kris said. "He's my TA. I'm not going to—"

Adam jabbed Kris in the side with an elbow to interrupt him and said, "Okay, so I am giving you fair warning here, the next time you say one word about how I deserved it, or how sorry you are, or for that matter just spend your interview time going off on how awesome I am, I am going to be so totally overcome with love for you that I am going to have to kiss you."

Outside the city walls, the tower stood black against the sky.

The strategy had not included getting drunk himself and losing all sense of timing and being the tawdry and expensive rebound sex.