One morning, there are no classes at the university. It is not foreseen - the professors have an extraordinary meeting. So Alain decides to go to Gilbert's, hoping that he is home. He hurriedly goes up to the Croix Rousse, enters the apartment and calls. Gilbert is not at home. Alain thinks to do some cleaning while waiting for him. He sweeps the floor, dusts around, and changes "their" bed sheets. He looks for clean sheets in the chest of drawers. He pulls out a pair of a sky blue color, thinking that Gilbert's body on that color will be splendid. Something slips out along with the sheets. He picks it up and stops, amazed... There are two of his pictures, and he recognizes them at once - the one missing from his living room and the other missing from his hideout. And he understands.
He remains there, with the two pictures still in his hand. He asks himself what to do. Pretend he knows nothing, put them back in the bottom of the drawer, or tell Gilbert he knows? Gilbert is a thief... this was then his "night job". But he loves him. Even now that he knows, he feels he loves him and that nothing had changed. No, he will not renounce Gilbert. But what if they catch him? No, he doesn't want that. He knows that he has to talk with him... he has to persuade him to stop... for him... because he loves him. Yes, he has to talk him - he can't pretend he knows nothing.
He puts the pictures in his briefcase, and continues to redo the bed. He is washing the dishes when Gilbert comes back home, his arms loaded with provisions - he went for errands.
When he sees Alain, he brightens up. "This is a wonderful surprise... but, what about the university?"
"No lessons this morning, and they sent us home, so..."
Gilbert puts everything on the table and goes to embrace Alain, who holds him tightly with affection and passion.
"We will prepare a good lunch, alright?" Gilbert radiantly says.
"Yes, sure... but first, I need to talk with you," Alain says as he feels his heart beating strongly in his chest.
"Really? About what?"
"Come in the other room..."
"In bed?"
"Later... the living room. I have to show you something..."
"A surprise?" Gilbert asks merrily.
Alain feels lost in his lover's smile. Yes, he loves him, and is really in love with him; therefore, he must talk.
He opens his briefcase, takes out the two pictures and hands them to Gilbert. "I found these, unwillingly, when I changed the sheets on our bed..." he says.
Gilbert takes the two pictures, turning pale. "Oh... you understand, therefore."
"Yes. It was yours... the note on which you wrote that you would steal me."
"Yes... mine," says Gilbert as he feels the world collapsing on him.
"And you succeeded... you stole my heart... you made me yours."
"But now..." Gilbert says, almost trembling, feeling confused.
"Now? I belong to you... you know that."
"You aren't... aren't mad at me, Alain? Don't you despise me... hate me?"
"How could I? I'm in love with you, and you know it."
"You still are?"
"Still, of course."
"But I stole from your apartment... I am a thief, and now you know it."
"I want to talk with you about this. If you stole from my home, then that belongs in the past. After all, thanks to that, we are now together. But I would like you to stop. Now that I know, I would worry a lot... I don't judge you, or condemn you, as I still don't know enough about your life, but... why don't you look for a job? Why carry on such a life?"
"My God... you really love me like before?"
"Do you think it to be so weird? I really love you."
"Oh, Alain!"
"But you have to promise me you will stop... please?"
"I'm not able to do anything else. I didn't study so much... I didn't even finish high school. Stealing... taking something from those who have so much more than me... it seems weird to you, but I like it. It excites me. And it gives me the way to live..."
They discuss. Alain feels he is not able to persuade him. He is sorry, but he is not even able to force the issue... he doesn't want to lose him, anyway! When Gilbert leads him to the bedroom, Alain understands that he lost his battle -- he loves a thief, and is too much in love with him.
They don't talk about it any more. Now the two pictures are in a nice frame... one in the living room, and the other - that with the nude Alain - on the night table, near the two squirrels that continue to kiss each other. Everything is back like before. Alain needs Gilbert and knows that Gilbert needs him. He knows that Gilbert loves him, even if this love is not sufficient enough to convince him to change his life. Alain is in love with Gilbert, and he can't help it. But Gilbert can't help it either.
Gilbert carries on four more apartment thefts without telling Alain. Rather, he carries on three, as in the fourth he finds such misery that, even if he finds out some money and a few little golden objects, he would leave everything in its place. He didn't feel like stealing from people who had almost less than he did.
Autumn comes. The two lovers had to part for almost a month during the summer, as Alain couldn't avoid going with his family. They meet again full with mutual desire - the forced parting had made their love stronger. Alain resumes his lessons at the university. Gilbert keeps an eye on a small villa on the outskirts of the town.
One night, sure there is nobody, he slips inside. These people are full with money - antiques, art objects in profusion - but he, as usual, aims just for money and jewelry that can be easily disassembled. He finds a safe hidden behind a framed painting - he is for sure not able to open it. He thinks that he possibly will not find money or gold around, but he continues all the same to explore.
He enters a small room and stops to look, taken aback. It is almost empty...walls painted in all black, odd studs on the walls, a stool in the center of the room and a closet on a side... nothing more. He goes to see what the closet contains when a noise at his back makes him jolt.
He turns -- a man with a gun in his hand, aimed at him, is looking at him. "So then, thief, do you like this room?" the man asks him with a weird smile.
Gilbert remains still, not answering. It's useless to do so - he had been caught red-handed. The man draws nearer and Gilbert has a strange feeling. It's as though the man is approaching him like a cat ogling a mouse...or a snake gliding towards a little bird.
"I stole nothing..." Gilbert says, more to break the sensation of danger than for any other reason.
"You didn't have time, did you?" the man says. "I'm sorry I disturbed you. But you understand that you trespassed on my property...not a good thing, don't you know that? Therefore..."
The man is now on him, aiming the gun against his chest. He smiles, but his smile is cold... dreadful.
"... I will now let pass your desire to play rogue, my dear little thief."
"Will you call the police?"
"Oh, no! We will settle this matter by ourselves. Undress."
"What?"
"Are you deaf? I said to undress... stark naked."
"I don't understand... Just call the police and..."
"Around here, I give the orders... do you understand?" the man says with a glacial calm, not raising his voice.
"What do you want to do to me?" Gilbert worriedly asks, without moving.
The man goes back to the door, locking it with a sharp click. He then switches on the lights, flooding the room with a strong red light. Always keeping Gilbert under fire, he goes near the closet and opens it. Gilbert widens his eyes -- whips, chains, handcuffs, odd objects...
"What are you going to do?" he asks in alarm.
"Simply give you a nice lesson, thief!"
"Call the police!" Gilbert beseeches.
The man wickedly smiles. "No. We don't need them. Look... I even have handcuffs here... NOW UNDRESS!" he sharply orders, taking a whip and making it crack in a sinister way.
Gilbert now trembles from head to toe. He thinks it would be better to obey him, for this man could be crazy. He starts to pull off his clothes, letting them fall to the floor. He now has only his briefs on him. He trembles, his eyes staring into those of the man.
"I said... STARK... NAKED," the man severely says.
Gilbert is hesitant but, when he sees the whip rise, he slips off his briefs. The man looks at him and seems pleased.
He takes from the closet four pairs of handcuffs and throws them onto the floor, towards the boy. "One for each wrist and each ankle... HURRY UP!" he barks in a tone that doesn't allow discussion.
Gilbert tries to object, but the whip springs to life and falls on his side -- the pain is excruciating. Gilbert obeys by putting on the four handcuffs. The man draws nearer and pushes him towards a wall by the handle of the whip. Gilbert now understands what the studs are for. In fact, the man makes him climb onto a low platform, making him spread his arms upward and locking them onto two studs -- he then does the same to his ankles. Now the naked body of Gilbert is like a big X.
"Very good. We can now start..." the man says, satisfied.
He puts down his gun and the whip and starts to undress. His eyes blaze with lust. The man has a sturdy body, muscled, covered with a thick copper-colored down.
"So... you wanted to take something here in my home, didn't you, thief? And something you will get, be sure of that... something substantial... This!" the man says with a sneer, pulling off his last garment and showing him his hard, erect member.
He goes nearer and pushes something on the wall, causing the narrow platform to pivot on two stanchions until Gilbert's body is suspended by only his ankles and wrists, almost parallel to the floor. The man takes the stool and slips it under the boy's belly. Then he goes in front of him. He has in his hand a small shiny object that Gilbert can't see clearly.
"Widen your mouth."
"No..."
"No? You are not in a position to say no... don't you understand?" the man says, sneering. He stretches out his hand and seizes the boy's testicles. "Do you prefer me crushing your nice balls?" he asks, starting to squeeze them decidedly in his steel-like hand.
"Oh, God, no... Alright... STOP!" Gilbert moans and widens his mouth.
The man swiftly inserts the small object. Gilbert now finds himself with his jaws kept apart by a steel retractor.
Now, the man starts to take his fun on his helpless prisoner...
Alain notices that Gilbert hadn't come back home. He waits for him. He comes back the following day but there is not yet any trace of him. He is worried... afraid that something bad happened. He would like to look for him, but he doesn't know where. On the third day he doesn't go to the university - he instead goes at once to Gilbert's home. He enters. All is as he left it the previous evening, the bed untouched. Gilbert still hadn't come back. Alain becomes anxious. Could he have been arrested? Could he be in jail? How can he check that? What can he do?
It is around eleven in the morning when Alain hears a key turning in the door lock. He stands up and goes into the entrance room. As soon as he sees Gilbert, he asks him in a tone halfway between relief and anger, "Good Lord! Where were you, Gil?" But he sees the expression of his lover's face and becomes worried. "My God... what happened?"
Gilbert gives him a tired smile. "Nothing... I'm alive."
"An accident? You are not OK!"
"It's nothing..."
Alain puts his arm around Gilbert's waist but as soon as he girdles it, he sees a grimace of pain on his friend's face. "It hurts you? What's up? Let me see!" he says in alarm, letting go of him.
"Nothing..."
"No, let me see. What happened?" Alain insists.
Gilbert goes into the bedroom, followed by Alain. He slowly sits on the bed - he has trouble bending - and again, though he tries at once to mask the expression with a smile, he grimaces in pain. Alain steps in front of him and opens his shirt.
"No, please..." Gilbert weakly protests as he tries to move away Alain's hands.
But Alain continues with gentle fury. As soon as he opens the shirt on his lover's chest, he sees that his vest is stained and striped with blood.
"What happened?" he says, almost shouting.
"I feel bad..."
"They thrashed you? Who?"
"More or less."
"What do you mean 'more or less'?!?" Alain yells as he tries to pull off his shirt.
"Alain, nothing..." Gilbert says with two tears flowing down from his eyes.
Alain manages to take off his shirt and sees that the back of his vest is also stained with blood.
Very gently he raises the garment and sees the marks that the whip left on Gilbert's body. "Oh my God! What did they to you? Oh my God, my God! That's terrible! We have to disinfect them, to treat them... do you have any more? Where?"
"A little everywhere..."
Alain gently undresses him until his entire sore-covered body is uncovered. "Do we have something at home to..." he asks.
"No..."
"Oh God. Listen, now you lie down on a side... I'll go to the pharmacy to fetch what we need. Later on, you will tell me everything." Alain says, determined.
He makes him lie down, covers him with a sheet then runs out headlong. He is back shortly afterwards with disinfectants, bandages, analgesic creams and cicatrizing gels.
"Now I'll wash, then disinfect you. Meanwhile you will tell me in detail all that happened to you, and who reduced you to this state."
"No, please..."
"No 'no' at all! I want to know, I have to know, and I have the right to know!" Alain says vehemently.
So Gilbert begins to describe, with a broken voice, the three days of torture and violence he had to endure. Alain, dismayed, listens to him while continuing to treat the mangled body of his lover.
At the end he exclaims, "You have to report him! He had no right..."
"No, what for? I, in any case, would end up in prison. And with a good lawyer, that man would go free with little or no problem. He has a lot of money."
"But the rape... for three days..."
"How can I prove that? I should have gone at once to a hospital. Don't you understand that I can't?"
Alain slowly and gently treats him. When he is finished, he tenderly caresses his cheek.
"Won't you give me a kiss?" Gilbert asks with a faint voice.
"You don't deserve it." Alain answers gently.
"I need it, please... to forget..." Gilbert beseeches him, looking at him with eyes again filling up with tears.
Alain hesitantly bends over him and kisses him on the lips. Gilbert puts his hand on the nape of Alain's neck, pulling him closer. Their kiss becomes deeper.
"Let's make love..." Gilbert pleads.
"It would hurt you. You are all sore."
"I don't care. Please?"
"No, you have to heal first."
"It would take too long. Please, Alain..."
"I can't. I would be too scared to hurt you."
"You can't hurt me... never as much as that man did, anyway. And I'm not talking about the whip, the alligator clips, the needles...or even when he raped me. That man wounded my soul, and only you can heal these wounds. Please...I need it... Make love to me, please..."
"But do you promise me that you'll stop doing that? That you will never again go stealing?" Alain asks him while starting to undress.
"Make me feel that you love me, now, please..." Gilbert answers, caressing with his hand Alain's body as he uncovers it.
"Sure I love you, Gil... but I will be in pain for you each night you... You have to promise me that..."
"Come... come to bed, my love."
"My God, Gil... is it possible that with you..."
"Do you love me?"
"Sure I love you..." Alain surrenders, "...possibly even too much."
"Too much?" Gilbert sweetly asks.
"No. Love can never be too much... you know it well... Oh, Gil, my Gil!"
In the following days, since he can't succeed in asking Gilbert to promise that he would stop, Alain asks him to at least tell him where he would go stealing.
"I can't Alain, don't you understand? If you know where I'll go, you'll become my accomplice and I don't want that."
"Am I not so?"
"No, you just know I am a thief... but you don't know when, where, or if I steal. That's different."
"But I would not tell..."
"It doesn't matter. I will be more careful. I made a mistake going into a villa... normal apartments are safer."
"You will make me feel bad each time I notice you haven't come back home."
"I'm sorry, believe me, but I..."
"Yes, but you! You are made in this way; therefore, I must accept you... or disappear forever."
"Well... do you want to... disappear?"
"You know I can't. You've bewitched me. You... you know that you just have to throw me a smile and I'd no longer be able to understand a single thing other than I love you! And you take advantage of that." Alain says in a tone of gentle reproach.
"No... I too can't renounce you... and I don't want to."
Alain is overcome with tenderness. "You really have stolen me, Love..."