• F • R • A • C • T • U • R • E •

who: Kai and Ronin
where: his room
when: evening

Kai had been wandering around taking more pictures, but it was eventually dark out, which she really wasn't sure when that had happened, but holy shit, there it was, dark outside. Right. She bounded back upstairs, and instead of going to her room, she headed to Ronin's, knocking on his door in the stereotypical pattern 'knock-knock knockknock knock – knock! Knock! It was only after she knocked that she realized she probably still looked like she’d lost a fight with a rose bush or several. Well, shit. She briefly entertained the idea of ding-dong-ditch, but imagined she wouldn’t get away with it. She’d only be halfway to her room by the time he opened the door…

Ronin had spent a long time immersed in music. Writing lyrics and trying things out on his travel guitar. He had his headphones on and the volume cranked up as he kind of lost his way out of the creative process and allowed himself to simply go wherever the music took him. It was how he was only vaguely aware that someone had knocked but he hadn't quite heard that there'd been a pattern to it. He figured it was Sullivan, coming to find out why he hadn't come down for that drink. No, Sullivan wouldn't come find him, he'd assume the reason Ronin didn't come down for a drink was because he'd spilled to Kai and they were in the middle of having sex because that was what people did when they confessed love to one another, right? Sigh. He didn't figure it was Kai because she hadn't been around all day so maybe it was her sister there to tell him off. He just didn't want to answer the door. The impish part of him that was always curious propelled him toward it anyway, weird little practice guitar strapped to him like a regular one would have been had it been able to fit into his luggage. He opened the door and there was Kai. He frowned slightly, confused, but then smiled. "Hey, sorry, I can keep it down," he said then frowned even more. "What the hell happened?"
( i remember everything )

Who: Ronin (narrative)
When: Early Afternoon
Where: Kai's door

He'd left Sullivan to go try to talk to Kai which seemed like the most important thing to him then. So he'd stood outside her door for a while. Knocking. Wondering. Imagining. Apparently she was either not home or she was not interested in talking to him. He hoped it was the former but he was left wondering when she didn't answer. There was nothing for it really but to go back to his own room. He'd done what he'd set out to do. Pull up his big boy panties and try to work things out with her but she wasn't there. If she wasn't there and hadn't come to his room it seemed pretty clear she didn't want to see him. So Ronin took himself back inside the closed door. Maybe it was just time to do music or something. He was definitely not up for facing his brother at the bar. Music it was.

Who: Ronin and Sullivan
Where: Hallway outside their rooms
When: Late morning

Ronin had spent a little bit of time in his room, eating the food that had been left on a tray outside his door. He showered, got dressed, and thought about going back to Kai’s room. He really wanted to see her again. He needed to figure out exactly what had happened last night. He knew what things had been done and said, but what did it mean for them? He sort of dawdled, thinking maybe she’d come to him first. But he was the man. He should man up and take the first step. He took a deep breath, prepared himself for possible weirdness, and stepped out into the hall, turning quickly to lock his door behind him.

At the same time, Sullivan was stepping out into the hallway as he adjusted his tie. He didn’t really have a plan other than to possibly try and find a way out of this place, but he was stunned to see Ronin there. He did a double-take before actually saying anything, trying to make sure that he wasn’t seeing things. “...So you’re here too, huh?”

( Who are you, Poindexter the Rockstar? )

Who: Mai and Ash, later Ronin
Where: Mai’s Room
When: Early morning

Ash woke and almost startled to find someone else in the bed with him. Then the memories of the evening before flooded in and he felt a slow smile spread across his face. It was definitely strange to wake up spooning someone when he hadn’t shared a bed for years. But he liked it. Because it was Mai. She had awakened things in him last night that he’d thought were long forgotten or dead. And she’d definitely jump-started his libido again. He couldn’t wait to find out what else she would bring to the surface. It could only be good things. He lowered his face then and pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder, not wanting to wake her but feeling the desire to bestow some sort of affectionate token on her while she slept.

Mai had fallen peacefully asleep, which was good considering just the afternoon before she’d been plotting the demise of her career with one missed photoshoot. But then there had been Ash. And he’d just taken all the fear and the worries away. How could she be worried when he was there, when he seemed to capable. When he kissed her shoulder she shifted in her sleep, stirring slightly. She stretched a little before turning to see him there. Unlike him, she’d shared a bed with someone recently, but didn’t always wake up as clothed as she was right now. Still, she wasn’t surprised to see him over her shoulder, just pleasantly amused that he was still there. “Morning,” she greeted softly, turning so she was facing him, head tucked under his chin.

( You're either shit at being a Rockstar or you're in love with someone else. )

Who: Ronin and Kai
Where: the bar, then Kai's room
When: late

Ronin was back in his room. It seemed the most logical place to be. He’d tried his phone again and again but had gotten nothing but endless ringing. He knew that meant his calls couldn’t be going out. There was no way, at this late in the game, that Kai wouldn’t have her phone on and waiting to hear from him. It just wasn’t like her. So he was pretty sure that things were FUBAR’d. Still he couldn’t sit still. He picked up his laptop and decided to find somewhere to listen and edit tracks without disturbing someone. He stuck the key to his room in his back pocket and went into the hall, taking the stairs downward. He didn’t expect to see anyone really. Instead he was singing “Even Want Her on Sunday” a bit loudly, listening to the acoustics of the hallway with a slight grin. It was a good song. He needed to thank Kai again for the thousandth time for suggesting it years ago.

Kai had been wandering the hotel. What else was there to do after discovering she clearly couldn't leave? The place almost seemed endless, though that probably wasn't true. Still, that idea was somewhere in her head as she wandered slowly, taking pictures as she went. When she heard a familiar song, she automatically drifted in that direction, thinking she hadn't heard this acoustic recording before. It eventually brought her out into what looked like a gorgeous courtyard, and she looked around until she spotted - “Ronin!” she cried, immediately rushing toward him. She wanted to bowl him over and hug him, but she curbed that, thinking of his back before she could hurt him.
( Ronin Is Cute Even While Fumbling His Way Toward Ecstasy )

Who: Kai and Ronin
Where: Local bar
When: 6 months ago

Ronin was on fire. He was on the stage with SMH singing his lungs out and having the time of his life. Their song “Sunday Morning” was always a big hit with the local crowd who all seemed to know the words and sing along. The bar was packed and he knew the band would be getting a good cut tonight but that wasn’t why he did this. It simply was pure, unadulterated fun to get caught up in all the excitement and such an ego boost to know he was part of the cause for it. Especially when the girls in the front looked moony-eyed and asked him and his bandmates to marry them or at least go home with them.

They finished the set and Ronin was so high on it all as he set his guitar on its stand and came down off the stage. He was sure that every single part of his body got a once over by someone as he tried to push through the crowd. He was laughing by the time he reached Kai. “I feel so violated every time I leave the stage. So what’s lookin’, good cookin’?” he asked, teasing her.

Kai had been loving the show. She got a lot out of his gigs too. The music, of course, was awesome. But beyond that, she loved the energy around, she loved seeing him up there on stage, being just as amazing as she knew he could be. She even loved seeing the adoration on the crowd, all wanting a piece of him, even as he made a bee line straight to her. She saw the usual glares, or disappointed looks shot in her direction, even as she gave Ronin's admirers a friendly smile and wave over his shoulder as she gave him a hug. She giggled at his teasing, and grinned at him. “Don't worry, I'll protect you,” she told him first. “And you were amazing as usual, of course!” she added, as one particularly pushy girl practically shoved her way between the two of them, her back to Kai.

( Sometimes When I'm Drinking... )

who: Kai and Ronin
where: Kai's house
when: years ago

It was late morning on a Sunday, and she didn't actually have anything to do that day so she let herself sleep in. By the time Kai ghosted silently into her living room, with a bowl of cereal. She arched a brow as she saw Ronin there, crashed out and snoring softly on her couch. He'd only managed to get one boot off, it seemed, and the other was tipped over on it's side on the floor. Smirking to herself, she got the remote, walked around the coffee table, then dropped directly down onto his stomach, propping her Cthulhu slipper clad feet up the coffee table as she flicked the tv on, as if he weren't there at all.

Ronin was enjoying his sleep as he usually did. Sleep was a good thing. They were almost as close as he and Kai. She was prettier, of course. He always reassured her of that. But at this point, he was completely immersed in some form of mildly euphoric dream state and very much in no hurry to leave sleep behind. Until he was suddenly exploded into reality as everything on the inside attempted to expel itself onto the outside and a heavy weight was left in its wake. Well, not so heavy, but he protested loudly. “What the hell, Kai?” he grumped and shoved at her elbow.
( have a song title and a photoshoot! )

Who: Ronin and Syd
Where: Hallways
When: Morningtime (present)

Ronin's eyes fluttered open and he expected a headache to follow but it didn't. There were a few other things he expected to follow that didn't. Like familiar surroundings, for instance. What he saw instead was something the 50s had vomited up and arranged into a living space including a vanity which almost felt insultingly feminine. He sat up and rubbed his eyes as if that might change the outcome of opening them again. It didn't. He threw his feet over the side of the bed and stood up to look around.

"Let's do the time warp again..." he mumbled in a sing-song tone as he gazed at the room. He tried to roll his mind back over the events of the night before and was even more confused because he hadn't had a gig. By all rights, he should have come to on Kai's couch with a pounding headache. "Shit, maybe I died," he said though the idea neither resonated nor worried him. He could fully prepare to meet Jimi Hendrix and Elvis if that was the case.

He found the note welcoming him to the Regent Hotel and his room key. He couldn't remember checking in but then you didn't check in to heaven, did you? He hoped this was some elaborate prank but the note said he'd be there for a while. That didn't bode well. He decided to forget the room and go find someone he recognized, alive or dead. "Kai?" he called out once he was in the hall. "Elvis?" he followed up tentatively, wandering down what he supposed was a hotel hallway. If this was Rock 'n' Roll heaven, it made sense it would be in a hotel!