A/N: Sorry about the long gap between updates! I promise I won't be abandoning this story and thanks for sticking with me! I was moving apartments and finishing my internship and all sorts of crazy things.

But here we have Jack trying to play matchmaker with our two stubborn criminals who are having none of it and lots of set up for the next arc. Fireworks of John and Rose meeting again should occur next chapter.

John scowled down into his cup of coffee. He wasn't completely sure how Jack had managed to invite himself over to his flat this morning but he had. Well that was not entirely accurate; John knew exactly how it had happened but he still didn't have to like it.

Jack had taken advantage of the fact that his phone call had woken John up from the first time he'd managed a kip in 48 hours. The invitation had been extracted before John was fully awake and functional.

So the hacker was left pulling on clothes and mainlining the coffee he'd put on so he would be somewhat alert whenever his guest appeared. The whole series of events more than merited a scowl in John's opinion. If it wasn't half ten in the morning he would have already poured himself a couple fingers of whiskey. He considered doing it anyways but decided coffee was the safer choice for now.

When the knock on the door finally came, John downed the rest of his cup and strode over the door, long legs and angry gait making short work of the inconsiderable distance. He opened it to find Jack smiling widely at him, hands stuck in his pockets.

"Good morning sunshine!" Jack greeted, clapping John on the shoulder and walking into the flat. "How are you this fine day?"

John grunted in the face of his exuberance and slammed the door shut before stalking back to the kitchen and pouring another cup of coffee.

Jack took a moment to appreciate the rather fine view of John's backside before following.

"Are you always this adorably nonverbal in the mornings or am I a special case?" He asked, rummaging around in the cupboards to find a mug.

"What do you want Jack?"

"You. Preferably naked but I'm willing to settle for half clothed." Jack didn't miss a beat as he poured coffee.

"Never gonna happen."

It was brief but Jack caught the quick upturn of John's lips as he raised his mug to hide it. His friend knew how to handle the flirting. He had no idea how to handle Jack inviting himself over.

Control freak, Jack thought fondly. "Worth a shot every time though," he said aloud.

He paused, wondering if this was his best shot at broaching on of the topics he'd come over to discuss. Again, worth a shot. He took a breath and dove. "Bet your answer would be different if a certain blonde thief asked." He took a sip of coffee, trying to appear nonchalant as he watched his friend.

John's expression immediately shifted from one of faint amusement to a stone wall, unmoving and revealing nothing of what was going through his mind.

And oh his thoughts were whirling behind that stony mask. His answer would have been very different if Rose had been the one uttering the words about wanting him naked. Very different indeed.

It had been just over a year since the Agency job and John hadn't been able to shake thoughts of Rose. He really hadn't been planning on kissing her that night, hadn't planned to pin her against the battered blue wood and feel her soft curves against his body. Hadn't planned on learning what it sounded like to listen to her pant with need as he trailed his mouth down her neck. Jack's words had brought back the phantom feeling of her lips on his and the exact memory of how her skin tasted on his tongue, salty and sweet at the same time.

Not that the memory had ever faded.

"I'm not talkin' about that job, Jack. Or about her. It was a walk away, never to be mentioned again."

Or thought about, he added to himself, trying once more to banish thoughts of the blonde thief from his head. He might need that whiskey after all.

"Fine, fine," the conman said, putting a hand up to admit defeat. He'd known it was a long shot but he'd had to give it one last go. "Lucky for both of us that I have something else to tell you so you don't kick me out right now."

John made an impatient "go ahead" gesture.

Jack took a long sip of his coffee. "I'm leaving London, going back to the States."

That caught the hacker by surprise. He'd been under the assumption that Jack had made London his permanent home. "When?"

"Next week. The powers that be have commanded and I must obey."

The cheeky grin Jack had been wearing slid off his face. "For most people I'm just going to disappear and they won't think twice about it after a few days but since I consider you a good friend I wanted to tell you."

John was touched. He and Jack had their moments of contention but he really did count Jack as one of his only friends. "You'll be missed," he said sincerely.

"Oh I know I will be," Jack teased, his usual playful demeanor back in place. "Thanks for helping me out when I need it. I'd give you a kiss to say bye but you might punch me and I rather like my face the way it is."

He started laughing in earnest when John growled in warning.

Jack left the John's flat half an hour later. They'd talked about various escapades they'd had together and some people they knew, both dancing around the fact that it might well be the last time they would see each other. Jack was reluctant to leave but he had an appointment to get to by noon.

He'd known John probably wouldn't talk about Rose. Neither of them would breathe a word about the other or the job and it was driving Jack crazy. He'd been looking forward to the two of them meeting. His two friends were volatile and he had just known that sparks would fly between the two of them. Unfortunately instead of kindling a fire, they seemed to have burned each other.

Jack damn well wanted to know the series of events that led to John dropping a key off at his door with a note that there was an urgent package for him in the police box on the indicated corner. (There had been a postscript scribbled at the bottom that the contents were unstable and he should handle with care.)

When Jack had approached the blue box and heard familiar muttering coming from it he almost choked remembering the wording of the note. He turned the key in the lock and a fuming Rose Tyler came barreling out.

"Bastard better hope I never lay eyes on 'im again. He won't live to tell the tale if I do."

"No hello, thanks for letting me out of the box, Jack?" he teased, trying to distract her from her anger. Her accent was the thickest he'd ever heard it and that was never a good sign.

She turned on him, eyes full of cold fire. "Job was a success. He's got all the loot and my equipment and should be dropping it off with you at the time and location he discussed with you previously." She paused, taking a deep breath. "An' don't tell me when and where that is because I might kill 'im. I really might."

"Do I even dare ask what happened?"

"Your friend's a bastard."

"So you've said. Doesn't explain how you ended up locked in an old police box."

"We're not discussing it." Rose's tone left no room for argument and before Jack could find another way to question her she turned on her heel and walked away, effectively ending the conversation.

Every time Jack had brought that night up with John or Rose they clammed up, claiming that it was a one-time job, a one-time exercise in working with a partner that was never to be repeated or discussed.

It was supremely frustrating.

Thoughts of what could have possibly happened kept the conman occupied for his entire walk across town to the location of his next appointment; Rose's flat. He'd given her plenty of time to wake up before coming over. He was already dreading telling her that he was leaving because she'd become his best friend while he was in London and he really did not want to leave her behind. There was no way in hell that he was going to face a grumpy, caffeine-deprived Rose Tyler on top of that.

Fixing a cheerful smile on his face, he knocked on the door.

Rose opened it a few moments later, "Good timing, Jack! I just finished making lunch!"

Jack cautiously sniffed the air. "Are you sure it's safe to come in? And is lunch actually edible?"

That earned him a swat on the arm. "Oi! Just because I don't cook often doesn't mean I'm not capable."

He started walking towards her kitchen, eying it warily. "Yes it does. There was that one time you almost burned down your flat while making toast. And then I'm pretty sure that chicken you made would have actually killed us if we'd eaten it. Oh and that…" He cut off when Rose shot him a deadly glare.

"I get your point but a sandwich is one of the things I can manage an' I have no problems throwing yours out if you don't want it."

"No, I'm hungry so I'll try anything." He took a seat at the table and dove straight into the same line of conversation he'd tried at John's. "Didn't get to eat anything at my last stop."

"Oh? Where were you?" Rose asked, only half listening as she dug around in the fridge for a drink.

"At John's," Jack said before taking a huge bite of the sandwich he'd deemed edible.

Rose straightened so quickly that she hit her head on the fridge. Rubbing at the sore spot she directed another glare at the decidedly innocent looking conman. "Have I not made it clear that I never want to talk about that man ever again? Cause I was pretty sure I had."

Rose was still fuming over the fact that John had gotten one over on her. After all the buildup, the flirting and bickering and the thrill of the heist, she'd expected something to happen between the two of them before they walked away and the expectation had caused the knife in the back to hurt even more. The betrayal and embarrassment and the anger were still boiling right under the surface. It didn't help that she couldn't forget exactly how fantastic those thirty seconds of being practically ravished by the hacker had been before he locked her in a filthy box. That had kind of put a damper on things.

He had told her repeatedly that he didn't trust anyone, didn't trust her. But Rose thought she had changed his mind for this job. Stupid.

"You know, he refuses to talk about you too."

"That better not be the only reason you came over today, Jack," she said, ignoring his comment.

"Can I not just come over to check on my favorite thief?"

"You can but you don't." Rose took a seat across from Jack at the table.

He let out a sigh, "I have news and you're not going to like it. Hell, I don't even like it."

"No use dragging it out then. Spill."

"I'm going back to the States next week. My bosses want me back where they can control me more closely."

Rose slowly put her sandwich. "Are you coming back?"

"No, the move is permanent. And even if they send me somewhere else, they won't send me back here."

"Jack…" Rose was fighting back tears. She hadn't been expecting this at all. The conman was her best friend and if he disappeared back to America, she'd probably never see him again.

"I know." He had tears glistening in his eyes too. "There's nothing I can do about it though. I'm not warning many people that I'm leaving. Just you and my previous stop really." He reached across the table and put his hand on top of hers. "I won't let this be goodbye though, Rose. I'll find some way to stay in touch but it might take a while. You're too good of a friend for me to just walk away."

"I'll hunt you down if I don't hear from you." She said, trying to tease him like normal.

"I taught you everything you know about tracking so you might be the only one who could."

"I'm gonna miss you, Jack. London won't be the same without you."

"You'll get by. You always do."

Slowly the two of them worked their way back to their normal flirty banter while they ate their food. By the time Jack stood up to leave, he knew that they'd be okay even with an ocean between them.

Rose was pouring a glass of wine an hour later when her mobile rang. She glanced down, saw it was Jack and smiled as she answered and tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder. "Miss me already, Jack?" she laughed as she gathered her wine to take it to the sitting room.

"I have a problem, Rose. Big problem. Agency size problem. I hate to ask for your help again but I need you." Jack sounded panicked and it was only the second time Rose had heard him like this.

"Of course. What do you need?"

"I'm not sure this line is secure anymore. I'll email you a location, can you meet me tomorrow around 9?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

Jack rung off without saying goodbye and Rose took a large gulp of her wine. Here we go again she thought.