Time After Time

After Gustav hang up and both Rose and him said goodbye to Ben, Fraser, John and Simon on London, they both inhaled and exhaled deeply. She sat next to him, their hands was still holding each other and they both smiled. Rose could see that Gustav had changed just from the call to his band's members and she was so happy yet nervous at the same time.

They didn't say anything for a very long time before Gustav chuckled.

“It's like they're not changing at all. Not even a bit,” he told Rose, who nodded and smiled, not knowing how to respond to those words. She saw a glimpse of old Gustav Wood, the Gustav Wood that existed before he moved to Australia and met her. That glimpse scared her and made her happy altogether. So she moved closer to him and said.

“Can I tell you something?”

Gustav's pale blue eyes were only inches from her eyes and he raised his eyebrows before answered, “Sure, you can tell me anything, Rose.”

She inhaled deeply before speaking.

“I think I'm a bit afraid, but I'm very happy for you.”

“Why are you afraid...?” Gustav looked perplexed.

Rose smiled, “Because that phone call changed you. … it changed you and I feel like you are now more Gustav Wood that I saw on the music video on Young Guns's channel than Gustav Wood that moved in front of my house. But I believe that it's a good change. I'm just... you know how I feel about you. I'm scared that whatever happens, we can't be together again. It's... it's a stupid feeling and thought, I understand.”

She sighed as she pulled back, her red long hair falling from her shoulders.

“But they're going to visit you! So it's a great thing. Great, great thing. Now we have only less than five days since they arrive on Kingford-Smith Airport, which isn't a lot of time. Do you think they'd like to stay in a good hotel? Novotel Wollongong Northbeach Hotel, perhaps? I think the price is about two hundred and twenty dollars per night, if that suits them...”

Gustav made surprised expression before he chuckled.

“We forgot to ask them how long are they gonna stay... and also their budget,” he snickered.

Rose chuckled, “You can message them. Or email them. Or give them another call tomorrow. Or I can do it. Oh... maybe they can stay on the next door. I don't talk to Gilbert in a consistent basis. Not even monthly, but I heard that he's going for a long holiday in New Zealand, visiting his cousin or something, so I might ask him whether he minds if four British gentleman are going to stay there for a while.”

“That might a good idea,” Gustav nodded.

After that, they both yawned so they went to bed.

That summer night was cool and silent. They lied together on Rose's bed and chatting sleepily. “I never thought that one day I'll end up with you in my bed like this,” Rose said. Gustav chuckled, “Sometimes life makes you end up in strange, beautiful place, Rose. I think touring and being able to be somewhere I still can't believe I was there and experiencing different culture has taught me that.”

Rose mumbled, “You are so cool, Gustav.”

“I like it when you call me 'Gustav'.”

“Because it's not just 'Gus' like everyone else call you?” Rose was half asleep when she said that.

“I guess so.”

“Are every rock star is as wise as you?” she asked again.

“Wise?”

“I mean, you reflect on a lot of thing. I think that is something really... I don't know. Mature?”

“Maybe it's because my age. I'm in my late twenties now.”

“No, no, no, maturity has nothing to do with age. Well there is... I guess. Experience makes you learn. But you can be sixteen and completely mature and you can also be forty seven and not knowing how to have proper attitude in annoying situation.”

“And I believe you're quite mature as well.”

Before Rose fell asleep completely, she said, “So maybe that's why we pulling each other—because we're alike.” And she didn't realise anything else that happened after that because she was sleeping.


In the morning, Rose was the one who woke up first and she felt overheated. Maybe because summer was getting hotter and being heated by Gustav's body warmth as she sleep. She watched him sleeping and hoping that her hair didn't bother him when she was sleeping because it was everywhere. A white, furry figure walked in from opened door and Rose smiled.

“Good morning, Lestat.”

Lestat must have heard her woke up so he came to her to ask for breakfast.

It was nine on the morning and there was another beautiful, summery day outside. Rose smiled at the window before she got up and prepare breakfast for three of them. She was checking the refrigerator and decided that she needed to buy more egg when Gustav woke up and greeted her from the other side of kitchen.

“Are we going to do something today?” he asked, Rose could see he hadn't full awake while he annoyed Lestat who was eating his breakfast by patting the furry Samoyed.

Rose chuckled at that sight.

“I just want to buy egg, maybe...?”

“Oh. That's quite a plan. I want to ask you to do something for me today.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“I think I need haircut,” Gustav said.

She looked at his hair and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I can really see the tremendous hair growth... again. Do you want to go to barber on city mall again or something?”

“I don't know. I was hoping you can do it for me.”

“Don't tell me you've chat with Gabriella about my ability as... coiffeur.”

“Oh, I'm afraid I did have that kind of conversation with her,” Gustav snickered.

“I'm a bit concerned by the idea of what can you two chat about.”

Rose then agreed to cut Gustav's hair after they bought eggs (and two boxes of ice cream, somehow) from Woolworths on the afternoon. She then set up a chair, a table cloth and a big old mirror she always kept for almost no reason so they can started the hair cutting business.

“I'm wondering why don't you open your own hairdressing salon or something, Rose. Gab told me that you pretty much always cut your own hair all the time.”

Rose took a long time before she answered because she was focusing quite a lot in cutting Gustav's hair. “It's... because I don't want to.”

“Gab told me you're excellent.”

“Doesn't mean I'm happy to do it. It's alright, I guess, that I have the ability to do it, but I'm very serious in cutting someone's hair and every time I do it, my hands are going to be seriously exhausted by the amount of concentration and energy that I gave.”

“Well, you can relax a little when you're doing my hair,” said Gustav.

Rose shook her head, “You're Gustav Wood. I'm not going to ruin a stranger's hair, moreover your hair. You're a public figure.”

He chuckled a sad chuckle, “I don't know whether I should be happy or sad when you say things like that. It's like you want me to go back being Young Guns again. Of course I want to, but I can't. But you're hoping that I can, you're hoping for me, which is great but it's also hurts to think that actually I can't do anything about it.”

“You can ask me to stop talking about it if it makes you feel uncomfortable.”

“Oh, I'm kind of enjoy it when you say it, actually. Sometimes dreaming a good dream doesn't mean that you need to make that dream comes true.”

“Some dreams come true, though,” Rose murmured.

“Not mine,” Gustav mumbled in return.

They didn't go back into that topic and started another topic when Rose cut Gustav's fringe.

“So... you saw a lot of version of my hairstyle on the internet the other day, right?” Gustav asked.

“Mm hm. What's with that?”

“Which one that you like the most?”

Rose chuckled, “What kind of question is that?”

“I am asking you as person to person which hairstyle that you like the most on me.”

“That... is actually something I haven't think about. Maybe the one that I'm trying to put on you now? The short-and-everyone-can-see-your-forehead-one?”

“Why maybe? It's not like you know what exactly my best hairstyle is.”

“I don't. I don't really care, to be exact. Gab can cut her hair to bald tomorrow and she's still my best friend.”

“At all?”

“Well, maybe a bit. But you see, I think relationship should be unconditional. For example, you are a great friend of mine...”

Gustav frowned.

“Alright,” Rose chuckled. “You're actually a great love of my life and you can have literally any kind of hairstyle and as long as you're representable and people won't think that there's something absolutely wrong with you, I can't be bothered. I love people for who they are. Their body can change, even their personality can change throughout the time. Having the ability to still befriend them and love them genuinely even though they change is essential as a friend.”

Gustav didn't say anything for a while. All they both could hear was the sound of scissor that moved on Rose's hand.

He smiled not long after that.

“You know, Rose Lette, sometimes I got the feeling that you'll accept me, just me, being me whatever happened to me. And you can still love me. And you will still care about me. And that kind of makes me want to be with you for a very long time.”

“Oh you will, Gustav,” said Rose.

“Yeah? I will?”

“I think we will still have good relationship in five, ten, twenty, or even forty years. We're friends for life, just like Gab and me, no matter what you're doing, no matter what I'm doing. … and now your hair is done.”

She moved from in front of him and he smirked on the sight of his reflection on the mirror.

“It's really really good,” Gustav complimented. “But I still want to talk about life with you.”

“Oh, we can still do it while brushing Lestat's fur, alright?”

And so they did.