Status: Unfinished and won't be updated.
Time After Time
Eighth
The next morning, Rose jumped out of her sleeping bag that she put on her living room, almost ran in excitement to check Gustav. He was awake when she checked him. He looked slightly better but still pretty ill to be obvious.
The first question he asked was, "Where did you sleep?"
"On the living room. On the sleeping bag."
"What…?"
"Don't freak out, please…?" Rose mumbled. "I mean, I only have one bed and you're ill. It's not like both of us could sleep together in my bed, right?"
Gustav made that difficult-to-read expression again.
"It would be really bad if I catch your flu as well. Then both of us would be really ill and no one can take care of us."
He laughed weakly and she smiled.
"You're right. We don't want that to happen."
Rose nodded, "Are you feeling better?"
He mimicked her, nodding, "Well, I mean, this place is warm, I actually eat actual food and I had my medicine."
"That's very good to hear," she smiled. "But I recommend you to stay inside for a while, because you're going to get really really weak and powerless if you're trying to go outside."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Sorry."
Gustav stared at her. She was staring back, hating herself again for being unable to read his expression.
Rose spoke, in her effort to understand what he might think right now, "That might be a little boring, but… yeah… if you wanna get healthy as soon as possible. Oh, I can help you with the house repairing thing… I'll get you the Yellow Page Book, but they might be quite pricey."
He shook his head, answering almost instantly, "It doesn't matter to me."
She was still staring at him, "If price doesn't matter to you, why did you afford such place to live…?"
There was a very uncomfortable silent following her words.
She could tell that it wasn't the right time for her to understand why.
"I'm sorry. Gustav…" she moved closer and knelt beside her bed. "I hope you remember that you don't have to say anything to me if you don't want to. But if you wanna talk to me, you can, okay?"1
He nodded. Rose smiled in relieve.
They spent the whole day trying to find someone who can fix Gustav's place through Yellow Pages. At first, he wanted to be the one who talk on the phone, but Rose said she'd better be the one who talk since he might got worse by talking and talking in various call. At the evening, they finally found a company that would start repair his Granny Flat tomorrow. After that, Rose let Gustav to walk outside the bedroom because he said he was pretty bored.
Gustav was a bit surprised to know that Rose had no TV.
"So where'd you get all the news, then?"
"Mostly newspaper. Sometimes radio, but I prefer newspaper."
"So you like to read?"
"Pretty much."
Rose stared at him while she was preparing their dinner. Everything feels a billion time better when she was with Gustav Wood. Maybe because she was quite happy that he wasn't too gloomy again, that he talked quite a lot comparing to before. But sometimes when she saw him looked sad, probably because he thought she couldn't see him.
But she could.
Before they went to bed, Gustav was insisting that he should be the one who sleep in the sleeping bag while Rose said it should be her, because she was healthy. Their debate ends when Gustav suddenly agreed to sleep in the bed. Rose guessed because she looked like she was almost cry when she thought she didn't understand why he looked as he really dislikes her kindness.
She went to sleep, but she wasn't really sleep that night, because she hadn't found any way to make him at least cheerful or even slightest clue about why he was so sad.
1 'You don't have to say anything, if you don't want to. But if you wanna talk, you can.' taken from CLAMP's "Kobato", manga, released by Kadokawa Shoten on 2007, vol. 4, chapter 14, page 2, A Clamp No Lumiere release.
The first question he asked was, "Where did you sleep?"
"On the living room. On the sleeping bag."
"What…?"
"Don't freak out, please…?" Rose mumbled. "I mean, I only have one bed and you're ill. It's not like both of us could sleep together in my bed, right?"
Gustav made that difficult-to-read expression again.
"It would be really bad if I catch your flu as well. Then both of us would be really ill and no one can take care of us."
He laughed weakly and she smiled.
"You're right. We don't want that to happen."
Rose nodded, "Are you feeling better?"
He mimicked her, nodding, "Well, I mean, this place is warm, I actually eat actual food and I had my medicine."
"That's very good to hear," she smiled. "But I recommend you to stay inside for a while, because you're going to get really really weak and powerless if you're trying to go outside."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Sorry."
Gustav stared at her. She was staring back, hating herself again for being unable to read his expression.
Rose spoke, in her effort to understand what he might think right now, "That might be a little boring, but… yeah… if you wanna get healthy as soon as possible. Oh, I can help you with the house repairing thing… I'll get you the Yellow Page Book, but they might be quite pricey."
He shook his head, answering almost instantly, "It doesn't matter to me."
She was still staring at him, "If price doesn't matter to you, why did you afford such place to live…?"
There was a very uncomfortable silent following her words.
She could tell that it wasn't the right time for her to understand why.
"I'm sorry. Gustav…" she moved closer and knelt beside her bed. "I hope you remember that you don't have to say anything to me if you don't want to. But if you wanna talk to me, you can, okay?"1
He nodded. Rose smiled in relieve.
They spent the whole day trying to find someone who can fix Gustav's place through Yellow Pages. At first, he wanted to be the one who talk on the phone, but Rose said she'd better be the one who talk since he might got worse by talking and talking in various call. At the evening, they finally found a company that would start repair his Granny Flat tomorrow. After that, Rose let Gustav to walk outside the bedroom because he said he was pretty bored.
Gustav was a bit surprised to know that Rose had no TV.
"So where'd you get all the news, then?"
"Mostly newspaper. Sometimes radio, but I prefer newspaper."
"So you like to read?"
"Pretty much."
Rose stared at him while she was preparing their dinner. Everything feels a billion time better when she was with Gustav Wood. Maybe because she was quite happy that he wasn't too gloomy again, that he talked quite a lot comparing to before. But sometimes when she saw him looked sad, probably because he thought she couldn't see him.
But she could.
Before they went to bed, Gustav was insisting that he should be the one who sleep in the sleeping bag while Rose said it should be her, because she was healthy. Their debate ends when Gustav suddenly agreed to sleep in the bed. Rose guessed because she looked like she was almost cry when she thought she didn't understand why he looked as he really dislikes her kindness.
She went to sleep, but she wasn't really sleep that night, because she hadn't found any way to make him at least cheerful or even slightest clue about why he was so sad.
1 'You don't have to say anything, if you don't want to. But if you wanna talk, you can.' taken from CLAMP's "Kobato", manga, released by Kadokawa Shoten on 2007, vol. 4, chapter 14, page 2, A Clamp No Lumiere release.