With credits to Rude_Not_Ginger's brilliant piece 'As in A' which inspired the flood of hastily typed characters that grace the remainder of this piece.
With each meet, Neal and Alex exchange one paper flower.
Each promises of hope but delivers only a new form of pain.
Will there ever be enough paper flowers in the world for a conman on the side of the angels and a restless fence to find happiness?
If you are looking for a happy ending, try ONE.
ONE. Neal and Alex exchange one paper flower. That is to say, they meet only once, in the flesh. It is almost evening, with the threat of darkness hanging over the fluffed clouds in the overcast sky. Neal and Alex end up spending one night together in a private little apartment somewhere no one will ever think to look, with whispered empty promises of future adventures and a particular music box. Alex leaves the next morning, one paper flower on the nightstand the only evidence of her presence.
They never meet again. They both move on. They lead fairly happy lives or, at least, as happy a life a conman on the side of the angels and a restless fence can lead. He turns to the right side of the law, acquires an adoring wife and two lovely children, works with the bureau for the remainder of his career until retirement finds him in his old age. She meanders her way across the globe, never stopping in one place long enough to be remembered, acquires considerable wealth and a healthy stockpile of antiquities derived through less than legal activities, works for no master save her fickly fancies. He thinks about her often. She thinks about him sometimes. But, despite everything, there is still that flower, that one paper flower exchanged between them, singing of mystery and nostalgia. And, for the both of them, for the rest of their lives, that is enough.
TWO. Neal and Alex exchange two paper flowers. That is to say, they meet only twice, in the flesh. The first time, it is almost evening, with the threat of darkness hanging over the fluffed clouds in the overcast sky. Neal and Alex end up spending one night together in a private little apartment somewhere no one will ever think to look, with whispered empty promises of future adventures and a particular music box. Alex leaves the next morning, one paper flower on the nightstand the only evidence of her presence. Except, this time, the promises made are not empty and both are distinctly aware that they will meet again.
The second time, Neal receives one folded paper flower on his porch and sets off in search of the music box with Alex, as promised earlier. The operation is compromised by unforeseen circumstances. They do not obtain the music box and are forced to flee. Alex suffers injury from the jump off the gatehouse during the ordeal and is left by Neal, bleeding and unconscious, at a local hospital. Everything continues as in ONE, but with residual bitterness.
THREE. Neal and Alex exchange three paper flowers. That is to say, they meet only thrice, in the flesh. Everything begins as in TWO, but, as chance or luck or divine will would have it, if you believe in that sort of thing, they meet once more. Alex is 58 when she returns to NYC. It is only a one-time thing, and only a day trip. One of her runners slips up, as is the case with rookies, and she is there for damage control and to make sure the FBI types don't get within half a mile of her trail.
But as she exits the Museum of Modern art, NYC, the scrap of torn cloth the only evidence connecting her to the scene of crime safely tucked in her Burberry purse, she catches sight of a familiar someone standing across from her on 53rd street. The years have treated him well. White has begun to seep through the deep chocolate of his hair, and he still wears his black fedora and he still smiles that special smile of his that she was sure he reserved only for her. It would have been enough to melt her heart, once upon a time. But she remembers the harsh bite of steel and the cold scratch of concrete beneath her palms, and the way he left her lost and alone. And her mouth is pressed into a thin line as she moves past him, slipping one paper flower into his pocket. They brush shoulders and walk off into the night, to opposite sides of 53rd street. Everything continues as in ONE, but with the pain of loss.
FIFTEEN. Neal and Alex exchange fifteen paper flowers. That is to say, they meet fifteen times, in the flesh. They do not rush into the acquisition of the music box. Instead, the wait and plan and survey the Amalienborg Palace. During this time, they are on constant correspondence by way of hastily scribbled messages on folded paper flowers. To stave off boredom, they have drinks, dinners and a tour around the galleries of the Museum of Modern Art, NYC every last Friday of the month. They move in together for convenience and to save on travel. They share time, a bed and all their hopes and dreams. Neither call it love out loud, but it is that all the same.
Thanks to the months of careful planning, the operation is not compromised by unforeseen circumstances. They obtain the music box and then flee. Alex does not suffer injury from the jump off the gatehouse during the ordeal. Instead, she clutches the music box tight against her chest as she sprints off on the road in the opposite direction from Neal, as was the plan. Alex is a smart girl, and she is very aware of the fortune she holds in her hands. She does not rejoin Neal at the safe house, as was the plan, and instead fences off the piece for half a million dollars and keeps the profit. This is where the correspondence ends. Everything continues as in ONE, but with the hurt of betrayal.
SIXTY-THREE. Neal and Alex exchange sixty-three paper flowers. That is to say, the meet sixty-three times in the flesh. In this reality, they do not meet in Vincent Adler's library, and they do not spend that one night together in that little apartment somewhere no one will ever think to look. Instead, they meet years later at the Museum of Modern Art, NYC, during the annual art biennale. There are no whispered promises and no talk of a music box, only hushed secrets and mystery and all the elements of a good romance novel. So begins a torrid love affair.
They meet every last Friday of the month at the entrance of the gallery and spend the night along the 53rd street, lit ablaze with the harsh glow of street lamps. They never talk about what they do outside of these meetings, which is just as well, because he works with the FBI, and she is on the wrong side of the law, and things would never have worked out if they'd known. On one of these meetings, Neal's buddies in law enforcement track them down. They shoot Alex on sight. She is wanted in connection with a dozen art thefts in the United States, after all. Neal receives a letter of commendation for 'taking the initiative' to bring a dangerous and highly volatile criminal to justice. He fakes a smile on stage as the cameras go off. He thinks about her often. She is not around to think about him. Everything continues as in ONE, but without Alex Hunter.