In which there is an argument, an apology, and a seed of hope.

AN: Why yes this is another update only a couple days after the last one! We're edging closer to the light at the end of the tunnel and, incidentally, probably close to the end of this particular fic. (but don't worry, i have more plans for these two beyond this fic if you're like me and not ready to let go of them) Also I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of you reading this, you're all incredible for sticking with me through my erratic updates. This story now has over 100 reviews and over a 100 people following it and I'm just gobsmacked. Thank you!

Since Jack wouldn't share his pastries anymore, claiming they were now for Rose only, John insisted on stopping to grab food. He went in the first open chippy he found. Greasy food was just what he needed to soak up the rest of the alcohol in his system. He wasn't going to face Rose while still tipsy, he was going to need all of his wits about him.

By the time they reached Rose's building John had a clear head again and was still completely at a loss as to how to apologize for his behavior.

"Her flat number is 4B," Jack said, interrupting his thoughts. "Remember, don't come up for at least twenty minutes. I want some time to talk to her first. Try and use some of that time to figure out what you want to say to her."

Before John could answer Jack pulled the door to the building open and slipped inside, leaving John alone with his thoughts.

The conman took the stairs up to Rose's floor. He needed the extra time to think himself, to figure out how he was going to play this interaction. His main goal now was reconciling his two friends before he left the country and it was not going to be easy with how stubborn they both were. He knew Rose would probably be fuming and he needed to hopefully calm her down a bit before John came up.

Jack took a deep breath and knocked on Rose's door. After a minute of no response he called out.

"Rose, it's me and if you don't open the door I'll just pick the locks, I know how yours work." He'd helped pick out and install the locks last year. They were pick resistant but he could still pop them open with about a minute's work since he knew the model and had practiced.

"Go away Jack, I don't want company," came her muffled reply. "I can just lock it again as soon as you pick it so that won't work."

"I could also get in the window," he mused, "but then you wouldn't get the pastries I brought for you and there's at least one chocolate croissant left."

He could practically hear her considering letting him in just to get the pastry.

"Fine, but I warned you," she said finally.

The locks clicked open and Rose opened the door to a widely smiling Jack holding a paper bag in front of him.

Rose was not smiling and Jack could see how tense she was in the stiff way she was moving as she grabbed for the bag and walked towards the kitchen.

"Hello to you too," Jack said as he closed the door behind him without locking it.

"Warned you. Not much for company right now," Rose said by way of explanation as she bit into the chocolate croissant she'd dug out of the bag.

"Nice job with the business card by the way," Jack commented offhandedly as he grabbed another pastry for himself. "It's completely thrown off the police and probably the Agency as well."

Rose narrowed her eyes at her friend. "How did you know the card was my idea?"

"Seems like something you would come up with," he answered. "Plus I might have stopped by John's earlier this morning expecting to find both of you there."

"Well he did a brilliant job of running me off this morning as I'm sure he told you," Rose spat, spine stiffening. "Probably gloated about it."

Jack debated telling her that John had been miserable and on his way to drinking himself into a stupor when he'd shown up at his door but he didn't think Rose would believe him and John needed to speak for himself.

"There was no gloating involved," he finally said. "He told me that you two had a fight and gave me a rundown of it. I didn't stay long, wanted to come check on you and bring you chocolate and hear your side of the story."

"Don't know why you'd bother, John made it clear that I'm not to be trusted," Rose said, bitterness evident in every word.

Jack winced. He knew that trust, or the lack of it, had been the main issue between John and Rose while they were working together. He also knew that trust was a major thing to Rose, personally as well as professionally. In the years he'd known her, Rose had made it clear many times that she was fine with lying during a con and would run game on a mark without the slightest hesitation or hint of remorse but she tried to always be honest in everything else. She wasn't an open book and she didn't talk about her past much but from what Jack had gathered her trust had been abused multiple times but she kept giving it, kept making sure that her friends knew they could trust her. To be so blatantly told that she wasn't trusted because of who she was and in spite everything she'd done with John had probably been an almost devastating blow for her.

If Jack was remembering John's run down correctly, that accusation had been near the end of the argument. His lack of trust had been the undercurrent of the whole fiasco and him blaming her for it had been one of the final nails in his coffin.

Jack shook his head, John was going to have his work cut out to get Rose's forgiveness on that front.

"He's an idiot, Rose, and you know that I trust you. Talk to me."

"He's a bastard," she huffed, moving to her living room and collapsing into her armchair.

"You've said that before and you still worked with him," Jack pointed out, making himself comfortable on the couch.

"Because I needed to," she protested.

"Didn't need to sleep with him."

Rose's cheeks turned pink. "That has nothing to do with anythin'."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes. We had no problems with that aspect of our partnership. It was him being an arse after the sex and any time we weren't in bed or in the middle of a heist that was a problem."

"You ready to tell me your version of the argument then?" Jack pushed.

"What more is there to tell? I'm sure he told you that he pointblank refused to even consider working with me again. And how I pointed out how exhausting it was to have a conversation with him because he bloody shuts down whenever something even touches on the personal. It's like trying to pick my way through a minefield and I was exhausted, Jack." Rose exclaimed.

"Yeah, he doesn't like talking about himself much," Jack agreed.

"And he kept citing those mysterious 'reasons' of his like he doesn't even realize he's using them as really ineffective and annoying armor," Rose continued. "An' he kept twisting my words and throwing 'em back in my face and he made it seem like it was completely my fault that he couldn't trust me when he just has some aversion to the feeling."

Jack let her words sink in a bit, mulling them over. They mostly matched up with the account John had given him but there was something he was curious about. "You know, I thought you were going to be a lot angrier when I got here."

"I am angry but I'm not angry at you and mostly I just hurt. Him saying those things hurt, Jack, especially because he said them specifically to hurt me." Rose's face twisted up as she talked and Jack could see that her bitten off fingernails were biting into her palms as she tried to keep control over herself.

Her eyes were bright with moisture when they met his. "I thought me and him… I thought we had something," she admitted. "Thought we could be something great if he'd just give it a chance."

She choked out a bitter laugh. "Got that one all wrong, didn't I? My taste in men's 'bout as bad as my cooking."

"Your cooking is much worse," Jack said dryly. He got up and walked over to her chair and crouched down in front of her.

"Look at me, Rose," he said, putting his hand on her knee. "You were right to call him out on his bullshit, he's gotten away with it for too long. He probably knew you were right too, which made him lash out."

"Doesn't mean he's not an arse."

"Of the highest degree," Jack agreed. "And nothing can justify him hurting you like this. If I'd talked to you first I probably would have punched him harder."

Rose let out a watery giggle. "You didn't really punch him, did you?"

"I did. He should be sporting a nice bruise on his jaw now," Jack said, pride tinging his words.

"Oh my god, Jack!"

"Do you think I shouldn't have?"

"God no. The prick deserved it, I'm just surprised is all."

"For what it's worth, and it might not be worth much, but I thought the two of you could be something great too," Jack commented. "My two best friends and two of the most talented people I've had the pleasure of working with on any side of the law, I thought it was a perfect match but I could never find a good reason for getting the two of you in the same room.

Then I saw the two of you together and you pulled off one of the greatest heists I've ever heard of in a very limited time frame and now a bank robbery. That chemistry is definitely there."

"Doesn't matter now. Chemistry isn't enough and he's not gonna apologize. Don't know if I'd forgive him even if he did," Rose said.

Jack mentally readjusted his estimate of this plan being a success to around 40 to 45 percent and silently apologized to John for not being able to warn him about the new odds that were decidedly not in his favor. "You sure you couldn't still build something with him if you can get him to see the light?"

"I'm trusting Jack, not stupid," Rose retorted. "He's cut me down twice and I'm not going to put myself out there again just so he can do it a third time. He made it clear that he was not willing to change anything about to accommodate me or meet me halfway and I made it clear when I walked out that I was done with him."

Jack opened his mouth to try and see if there were any circumstances in which she'd give the wanker he unfortunately considered a friend another chance but he was cut off by a knock on the door.

He glanced down at his watch and cursed under his breath when he realized that his twenty minutes were up. He got to his feet and started moving towards the door, closely followed by Rose who was muttering something about only having company when she didn't want it.

Before they reached the door, it swung open revealing John standing nervously in the hallway.

"Door was unlocked," he said sheepishly, trying on a small smile in the face of the growing fury evident in Rose's expression.

"What the hell are you doing here? And how did you even know where I lived?" Rose demanded.

John took one look at the panicked look on Jack's face and made up an alternate excuse than following Jack. "You really think I can hack into bank servers but not find your address?"

Rose's eyes narrowed and he winced. Sarcasm probably hadn't been his best opening volley.

"Well you've made you point and you can leave," Rose said, crossing her arms in front of her. "Thought you made it perfectly obvious earlier that you wanted nothing more to do with me."

He mirrored her, crossing his arms as well. "I came to apologize, Rose."

Rose snorted in derision. "Yeah right. You're constitutionally incapable of admitting you're wrong. Ever. So you can quit your gloating about being right about us not being a good team and get the hell out of my flat."

"I'm not gloating! And I was wrong, about that and a lot of other things."

Frustration was already seeping into John's tone and Jack had a feeling this conversation was about to explode. Possibly on a nuclear scale. He really didn't need to be here to watch it crash and burn so while his two friends were busy glaring at each other he slipped out the door. He'd check on them later.

"Leave," Rose said flatly.

"No, not until you've heard what I have to say."

"You said your piece this morning. Got the message loud and clear."

"I was being an arse this morning," John said.

"Damn right you were."

"I've been an arse to you most of the time we've known each other," he continued, taking a few steps forward so he was actually inside her flat instead of the hallway.

"Glad to see you've at least managed to see that much," Rose shot back acidly. "Get to that conclusion yourself or did Jack's punch knock some sense into you?" Her eyes dropped to the bruise that was purpling on his jaw.

"I'm capable of thinking for myself, thanks," he replied testily, rubbing fingers over the sore spot.

"Could've fooled me. Thought your 'reasons' did all of your thinking for you."

"That's not fair."

"Oh, you're interested in being fair now?" Rose's voice was bordering on shrill as she looked at him in disbelief. "That's a change from this morning."

John tried to keep his voice steady and not let her draw him into another shouting match. "I was scared this morning, Rose. Terrified. You were already closer than I'd let anyone be in ages and I panicked and said a lot things I didn't mean."

"Unbelievable, you're still making excuses!" Rose threw her arms in the air and spun around, stalking towards the kitchen.

John made to follow her but she turned suddenly and advanced on him. "You meant every word you said this morning, John. On some level, you meant them and I'm not okay with that. I'm furious and then you have the nerve to show up here and say you're apologizing without ever actually apologizing? You're such a bastard!" She slapped a palm into his chest in time with the last word of her sentence and he let the impact rock him back on his heels.

"Rose," he started, trying to placate her so she'd actually listen to his apology. "I am sorry about how I beha-"

A door slamming open in the hallway cut him off and suddenly someone else was yelling. "Keep it down over there! I don't need to hear your fucking row when I'm trying to sleep. Have some respect."

Rose stalked past John to get to the door, vibrating with anger as she faced down her next door neighbor. "Oi! If I have to listen to you having sex with prozzies twice a week while I'm trying to sleep then you can listen to me havin' a domestic once. Ta." She shot him one of her wolfish smiles and slammed the door shut.

"Now, where were we? False apologies, yeah?" Rose snapped as she faced John again.

John took a deep breath, keeping his own temper in check as she kept sniping at him. "I'm serious about apologizing, Rose. I made loads of mistakes this morning and while we were working together and you're right about me not admitting I'm wrong very often or apologizing very often. You were right about a lot of things. Got me pegged, you do. But you deserve an apology because I was out of line today."

"I'm not gonna forgive you just because you say I was right or because I'm somehow special for earning an apology," Rose said.

"I already told you that I was scared. I know it's just an excuse but it's also the truth. I was scared of how close I'd already let you get and scared of how much closer I wanted you, of the fact that I wanted you to stay and didn't know how to deal with that." John broke eye contact with Rose and started pacing, unable to continue talking when she was still glaring holes in him. "So I pushed and I lashed out because I'm an idiot and you just kept saying things that proved how much you saw right through me and I… I regretted everything the second you walked out of the door."

He stopped and looked at her again, meeting her fiery gaze once more as he tried to project as much honesty as he could. "I apologize for the things I've said that hurt you and for the way I've behaved in the past. It was unacceptable on my part and I realize that now."

Rose muttered something under her breath and brushed past him as she stomped into the living room. She flopped down in her chair again and watched as John slowly followed her into the room, somehow looking for all the world like a lost puppy.

"The thing is John, I'm not sure you're apologizing because you feel like you should or because you actually want to." Rose said after a moment's pause. She sounded resigned, like her anger had drained away and left her exhausted and bitter instead.

"I wouldn't apologize if I didn't mean it. I said it in anger earlier this morning but I meant it when I said I don't lie. I promise I didn't come here to manipulate you or anythin' like that. I came here to lay it all on the line and tell you I was sorry and that I don't want this to be the last time I ever see you." John said, awkwardly tugging at the sleeves of his jacket and stealing glances at Rose to see if he was getting through to her.

"But why? You sounded like you wanted nothing to do with me earlier, like you weren't willing to even try to meet me halfway to try and make whatever this is that we have work."

"I knew you were right about me and how I kept everyone out, how I used my past as a shield to avoid letting people in instead of trying to move past it. I realized it about halfway through our fight and it wasn't a comfortable realization. I lashed out and insulted you more and refused to listen to you at the time but I knew you were right and I also knew that my flat felt empty without you there even though it had never felt empty before," John admitted, desperate for her to realize that he really wanted to try again with her. "I thought a lot about it after you left and when Jack showed up I was well on my way to getting drunk before noon and it was because I knew I had fucked up the best thing that had happened to me in years."

"John…" Rose started.

John swallowed hard and shook his head, needing to continue. "I won't lie, before our argument I wasn't willing to consider working with you further because I hadn't come to terms with the fact that working alone wasn't always the best option. I hadn't come to terms with the knowledge that I thoroughly enjoyed working with you and didn't want it to be a walkaway at all. So I pretended like I was ready to just let you leave and did my best to make you leave and then once you did I knew it was a mistake.

"I can't promise that I can change my habits right away and I'm never going to be able to just talk about my past easily but I can try to be better. I want to keep working with you, Rose. You're the most talented thief I've ever seen and you're a fantastic person and I want to see what we can accomplish together, what we can be. For that chance I can learn to tell you that I love travelling and have done a lot of it and that I've never smoked in my life except a cigarette I snuck when I was fourteen that made me choke." He stopped when he heard a small giggle from Rose and gave her a hopeful look. "I know that I did so much wrong and I can't take it back and I don't deserve you forgiving me or at least agreeing to try and forgive me and moving past this but I want a second second chance with you."

He stopped talking and just looked at her, holding his breath. It was probably the most he'd said in one go in years but he was positive that she was worth it. He'd just put his fate in her hands but she didn't look like the big Bad Wolf anymore. She looked like the woman he'd taken to bed, like the woman he wanted to get to know better. He dared to start hoping that she would give him the chance to redeem himself and start anew.

Rose's head was in turmoil. This was the last thing she had expected when John had showed up at her door. She figured he'd come to rekindle the argument or something, not to apologize or beg forgiveness. And he seemed to be sincere about his pleas for a second chance, or a second second chance as he put it since she'd given him his first second chance after the police box fiasco.

She wanted to forgive him but his words from that morning were still ringing in her head and the barbs were still in her skin and she didn't know that she could let it go yet.

"I believe you, John," she said finally.

She saw hope dawn on his face and felt a pang of remorse that she was about to crush it. "The thing is, I don't know what I want to do yet. I don't know if I can forgive you yet. I'm still mad from this morning and you hurt me."

"Rose, I-," John started to try and apologize again but Rose put up a hand to silence him.

"Just hear me out now. I need some time to think about it. Just give me a little bit of time to cool off and figure out what I want to do."

"However much time you need," he agreed readily. This meant he had a chance and that was as good as gold to him, better really.

"I'll drop by yours later today and let you know what I've decided. I know Jack wants to be informed of it we work things out or not before he leaves so I can't take ages," Rose said with a wry smile.

A puzzled look came over John's face as he glanced around the room. "Where did Jack disappear to?"

"Oh, he slipped out early in the fight. Probably didn't want to get dragged into it."

"Ah. Right."

"So, is me dropping by later alright?" She asked.

"Of course," he said. John took a step back and then rubbed at the top of his head for a moment. "I'll just, um, go then. I'll see you later. Thanks for listening."

With that he practically fled out the door, Rose's call of goodbye barely registering with him as he closed the door to her flat.

He could do this, he thought. He could survive waiting for Rose to make up her mind. For her, he could handle waiting.