My German lover : Part 2

Before reading this story, I suggest you read Part 1 < They are here >, so you can understand Part 2 better...

< ARE YOU GAY? >

Now Will and Paul were driving through Paris on their way to Paul's home on Avenue Foch. The night had fallen a while ago, and the streets were very quiet, except for a few German patrols they had met on their way. As Paul was guiding Will through the streets, he asked him:

"I've been with you since this morning, we've met many German officers, and not once have I seen you give the Nazi salute to one of them. How come?"

Will looked at Paul with a grin on his face, and replied:

"You know, Paul, there's a big difference between us, German soldiers in general, and those Nazi guys. Most of us in the Wehrmacht, I mean... in the German army are not Nazis. We are just soldiers, doing our job... Of course, some soldiers are Nazis too, but they form a minority within the Wehrmacht. I'm not a Nazi, for sure. Like many others in the army, I dont like to give the Nazi salute... But if someone gives it to me, I have no choice, I must answer the same way and give the salute..."

"I see. It's a bit complicated, though..."

"Yeah, I know. I will have to give you a crash-course on that later. But for the moment, just remember that if you see a soldier wearing a black uniform, that means he's not in the Wehrmacht, but part of the Schutzstaffel..."

"What's that", Paul asked.

"The SS, if you prefer. You see, SS soldiers are not part ot the regular German army, as I am. They form a second army... totally independent from the Wehrmacht. They are totally self-reliant and are controled by Himmler, not by the generals of the Wehrmacht High Command..."

"...So, why are you telling me that?"

"Because the guys in black uniforms are very dangerous, Paul. That's why I'm telling you that. Be very, very carefull with those guys. Never ever trust them. Never run from them, be polite to them, but don't trust them. Those SS men are Nazis from head to toes..."

"... I'll try to remember that..."

"No, Paul. Don't just try. Make sure you never forget it. Have you ever heard about the Gestapo?"

"... Oh, shit, yeah, I've heard stories about it..."

"... Well, the Gestapo is controled by the SS... If you see what I mean... And if you want to make sure a guy is part of the SS, not only will he be wearing a black uniform, but look at is black army cap: You'll see a deathshead cap badge on it. That's the best proof you can get..."

"Don't worry, Will. I'll stay away from them. I swear."

Seeing he had made his point, Will's face came back to its normal appeasing state.

"... Here, on your left" Paul suddenly said to Will.

"...What?"

"Take that street on your left..."

"Oh, yes. Sorry. You said you had a few questions to ask me. What's next?"

Paul smiled, hearing Will say that.

"Well, the next question is easier... I think".

"Go ahead..."

"How come you speak French so well?"

"Well, you see, when I was a kid in Berlin, we had a French family as our next-door neighbour. They had a kid my age, and eventually we became good friends, and I learned how to speak French playing with him. Later, I took school lessons, though. Because of that, I was able to get a fun job during the Berlin Olympic Games, you know..."

"Weren't you a bit young to get a job at the time?"

"I was 16 at that time, and it wasn't really a job, you know. For the duration of the Games, a group of young guy from the Hitler Youth were assigned to each team as errand boys and general dogsbodies... We were known as the "White Guides". Anayway, I was assigned to the French team, since I was fluent in French..."

"That must have been fun, wasn't it?" Paul asked.

"Yeah. It was great. The French athletes were terrific."

"... Now, to your right" Paul indicated to Will. "Drive all around the Arc, keep to your right until I tell you where to turn..."

"...Ya, Ya, mein herr. At your command! Und Zieg Heil to you..."

Now, both of them went hysterical, laughing so hard they could have awaken the dead.

While driving around the Arc de Triomphe, Will gave it a look... He had to agree it was very beatiful... so imposing. Many times in the past, he had seen pictures of it, but had never realize how really big it was. Now, he was seeing it with his own eyes. As if he understood what Will was thinking, Paul said to him:

"Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Shit, didn't think it was so big. I'm flabbergasted. Really..."

"Yeah. Now turn to your right, and drive down that Avenue. That's my Avenue... That's Avenue Foch, just as I told you..."

"Lots of trees", huh? Will said.

"Yeah. Now, go slowly. It's not very far from here. See, it's right there, on your right. Hey, it's here, I said..."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard. Don't think it would be a good idea to park a German army jeep right in front of your home, though. What do you think?"

"Whatever..."

"Here. That's better" Will said.

"Come on. Let me show you where I live" Paul answered.

They got off the jeep, and started walking to Paul's home. There were so many trees on the Avenue that Will thought nobody could see them walking. When they reached Paul's home, will rose his head to look at the building in front of them. It was not a house, it was like a palace. He was stunned.

"That's where you live?" Will asked.

"Yeah. You like it?"

"Hell. Do I like it... It's huge, and it's beatiful..."

"Lets go inside" Paul replied, smiling.

They walked up the stairs to the building, and Paul unlocked the big doors. They got inside a entrance-hall. Paul opened an other set of big doors, and they entered into another room. Although it was dard, Will could sense that room was much bigger. Paul searched for a switch and then, suddenly, the room was flooded by the lights of a very large chandelier, hanging way up from the ceiling.

"Wow! Is your father the King of France?" Will asked...

"No way" Paul replied. "And you know, all the other buildings around here are like that. Nothing so special..."

"I tell you, your father must be a rich man, to live in a place like that. It's beatiful..."

"Thanks"

Paul examined Will, while Will was looking around the great hall. Will was like a child unwraping his Christmass gifts. He was so beatiful, and yet so strong. He wasn't wearing his army cap so Paul could see his golden blond hair shining under the chandelier's lights. What a gorgeous young hunk. He was so handsome...

"What?" Will asked Paul, with a smile on his face.

"What do you mean "What"?"

"You're staring at me. What's wrong with me?"

"Oh, nothing at all, I swear. You're just fine. How old are you, Will?"

"I got 20 last March..."

"That's what I thought, you're older than I am"

"Much older, you know" Will said, grinning.

"Oh, sure. I'll be nineteen next August, so I guess that makes you much, much older than me..."

They both laughed at that, and then Paul said:

"Come on. Lets go to the drawing-room and relax. Want a beer?

"You have beer?"

"Yeah. My dad didn't have time to lock the cellar before he left so I can have all I want. And it's full of beer... lots of bottles of wine too..."

"I'll have a beer, sure" Will replied.

"Be right back. The drawing-room is to your left. You'll find the switch on the wall, to your right..."

While Paul was fetching the beers, Will entered the drawing-room, found the switch and put on the lights. The room was dimly lit, but Will could see it was a very large room. A beatiful room. On the opposite side of the room was a large fireplace and lots of furniture. Everything had been covered with sheets, to protect against dust. He sat on a sofa, not removing the sheet from it. Then he heard Paul, comming back...

"Hey, why didn't you remove the sheet?" Paul asked...

"I just didn't dare, you know..."

"Well, you should have. Give me a hand with it, will you?"

"Wow. Everything is so beatiful in here..." Will stated.

"Feel right at home. Since my family left, I haven't been into this room... you know... I don't like to be here all alone by myself. But with you here, it's okay."

They sat on the sofa, and Paul gave Will his beer.

"Cheers", Will said.

"Yeah. Cheers"

"Ah, that feels food, doesn't it?", Will asked.

"God! I needed that..."

"Eh, is that a Grand piano you've got there, under the sheet?", Will asked.

"Yeah"...

"Do you play?", Will asked Paul...

"Nah. My mum does, though. She plays very well. Do you play?"

"Yes. I learned to play when I was younger... Haven't played for a while, though. You know... with the war... not too many occasions to play when you're in the army..." Will replied.

"I guess not. Hope you'll play for me sometime. What kind of music do you like?"

"Oh, all kinds... you know... I also like to play classical music like, I don't know... Mozart, Bach, Liszt, Schubert..."

"Oh, Schubert... that's one of my favorite... my mother loved to play Schubert... I would sit here for hours, listening to her play Schubert..."

"That's funny... He's my favorite too. All those composers were Germans, you know..."

"I know. And you seem to be very proud to be German also, aren't you Will?"

"I am. As much as you, being a Frenchman. Most of us in Germany are not Nazis, I told you... I've already told you I'm not a Nazi... never been a member of the Nazi party, and never will. I didn't choose to be part of the Hither Youth: It was compulsory for kids my age... and I didn't choose to enter the army either. That too, was compulsory..."

"I know that... I believe you, when you say you're not a Nazi. But you know... It doesn't change the fact we are almost defeated now... From what I've seen, it won't take long before we beg for mercy. And England will follow suit not long afterward, I guess. Whether we like it or not, you now have the most powerful army in the world, and your leader is none other than Hitler. The war will soon be over Will, and that's scares me... What's going to happen tu us after the war, Will?"

"I don't know, Paul... but we're not there yet. The war is far from being over... England is not defeated yet..."

"Well, I guess they must be as demoralized as we are here, in France..."

"That's possible... maby... I don't know about that. What I know for sure, it's that the war is just not over yet. So in the meantime, as I've already said to you Paul, be very careful... stay away from the SS... keep your feelings to yourself. If you ever get arrested again, I may not be able to help you then..."

"And why would you try to help me... We don't know eachother really that well, you know..."

"Yeah, you're right. We don't know eachother that well, yet. But I sure would like to know you better... All I know is that I like you, and I wouldn't like to see you into troubles..."

Saying that, Will blushed, which was quite apparent due to his fair-complexion. Paul noticed it and found Will to be... well... kind of cute. Paul had never even conceived he could be attracted to another man before. Until today that is. Since the first moment he had seen Will, he had known there was something special with that guy. In a way, he felt attracted to him. Now, having heard what Will had just said to him, he was feeling something in his stomach... a feeling he had never felt before. He didn't know what it was, though. And he could not explain it either. All he knew was he had felt secured at the hospital, press into will's strong arms. He would have stayed just like that for hours, if that had been possible. Suddenly, his deep thoughts were interrupted by Will, saying to him:

"Beside Paul, whatever I said before, you and I are almost the same age and, you know, it's not easy being in the army. Sometimes, I feel home-sick. I miss my family. I have a few friends in my unit but, you see, I guess they would not do very much to help me save my skin, should I need help. The only one I could count on is Lutz... he's a good friend of mine. We live on the same street in Berlin, and I've known him since we were kids... Thanks God, he's in my unit..."

"Is he here, in Paris?" Paul asked...

"Yeah. He is."

"I guess your lucky to have him here in Paris, with you. At least, you're not all alone here. All my friends fled Paris before you guys got into the capital. There is no one left..."

And Paul continued:

"As for my family, I don't even know where they are... so I know how you feel, being home-sick sometimes... to say the truth... I miss my family... a lot. At first, when they leftm, I thought being on my own in Paris would be fun... Beside I had to visit my Grandma at the hospital, and so I was not really all alone in Paris. But now she's dead. I don't even know what to do. Now I realize I'm all alone. I don't even know how to reach my father to let him know my Grandma has died, and..."

Paul eyes were full of tears...

"... Wait... Wait... Wait Paul for a second", Will interrupted, "First, you're not all alone. I told you... or at least that's what I tried to tell you: If you wish... we could be friends... I'm not too good with words... I told you that... and sometimes I just don't know how to express my feelings... you know... but I would really like to be friend with you. Now, perhaps I can try to locate your family through our services... and get in touch with him... first to let him know you're okay... and then to let him know about your Grandma..."

"Would you do that for me?", Paul asked...

"Well I can try...", Will answered. "But you will have to tell me more about your father... Where was he the last time you heard from him? You know... that kind of stuff so I can initiate some research... Where do you think we should be looking for him?"

"Yeah... that would help, wouldn't it?"

Now, it was late at night; he was sitting with a German soldier next to him, right there in his own home, having to decide whether or not he could trust that guy. Although very attractive and good-looking that guy next to him may be, nevertheless, he was a German soldier. He was the avowed enemy! Could an avowed enemy be trusted. The first answer that came into Paul's mind was NO! But something was telling Paul he could trust Will. He had been very helpful up to now and had driven Paul directly to the hospital, instead of going first to Paul's home to check his ID. By doing so, Will had violated the direct orders given to him by a Superior officer. And thanks to Will, Paul had been able to see his Grandma for a last time before she died... By doing what he had done, Will had shown Paul he trusted him... that was a good sign. Could Paul in turn trust Will?

Paul got quite agitated doing all that thinking, and Will, sitting next to him, could only guess what his new friend was going through in his mind...

"Paul... Hey, Paul... are you still there?" Will asked...

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking... you know..."

"What were you thinking about that got you so agitated?"

"Well, Will... I don't know. So many things have happened in such a short period of time that I no longer know where I stand", Paul replied.

"What do you mean, Paul?"

"Listen Will: You have asked me to give you a lot of details... informations concerning my father and my family... and... I just don't know if I can trust you with those informations. You could be working for... say... the Gestapo for God sake... and if so, I could get my father and the rest of my family into big troubles and dangers..."