Archive of Our Own

When he meets Makoto again, it’s roughly a year since their last con. They’re sitting at a table in a small cafe in Florence. Makoto had been working there as a barista for about two months.

The owner of the cafe is an old friend of Laurent’s. You can see where this is going.

He expects Makoto to react as he usually does, angry, frustrated, and animated. Instead, he looks at him with a resigned, rejected expression.

It’s the first sign.

Laurent tells him about the con anyway. He explains that he had initially intended to leave Makoto out, but now that Cynthia has Kawin to look after, their operation is one man short. He explains that Makoto has big shoes to fill, and that he’s expecting good work from him.

Makoto remains silent. Laurent isn’t sure how he’s supposed to deal with him like this. 

“You’re being awfully complacent, Edamura. Could it be that you’re actually starting to like-“

“Who’s the target?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Makoto lets out a sigh. It sounds nothing like his usual, exasperated ones. It just sounds tired. “I said, who’s the target?

“Oh, well, it’s the current head of the Cervello family. Mafia. They’ve dabbled in pretty much every kind of underground business you can think of, but they’re probably most known for…human trafficking.”

This gets a reaction out of him. It would seem that his actions from the last con still weigh heavily on him, and Laurent was banking on that. There’s no way Makoto would consider pulling out now.

“So, can I count on your cooperation?” Laurent holds out his hand. Predictably, Makoto doesn’t shake it. Unpredictably, instead of throwing a fit for dragging him into yet another one of his schemes, he just silently stands up and leaves the room. 

Makoto never looks him in the eye whenever Laurent speaks to him. And the few times Makoto directly responds to him, he makes it a point to look anywhere but his face. 

He’s different with Abby and the others, though. Still talkative and animated. Whenever Laurent’s not in the room, he can hear them chatting, can hear Makoto speaking and acting like his old - no - his usual self. But the moment Laurent walks in, even if Makoto is in the middle of a sentence, he immediately stops, face becoming stoic as he silently exits the room without a word.

The only times Makoto ever talks to him is if it has to do with the con. He listens attentively and responds mechanically. If Laurent attempts to veer off topic or make a joke, Makoto does not respond. Only looks at him silently, waiting for him to return to the topic at hand.

Well, that’s not entirely true. Makoto has spoken to him exactly two times outside of discussions about the con. The first was when Laurent attempted to put a hand on his shoulder. Before his hand reached its destination, he was met with a fierce glare that would rival Abby’s and a sharp “Don’t touch me.” Laurent obliged, thinking that the younger man was still feeling touchy after being roped into another con. 

The second time was during a meeting with the whole crew. Laurent was assigning roles, and as he was about to detail Makoto’s, he once again attempted to place his hand on the brunet’s shoulder. Again, he was met with that same fierce glare, but his voice was louder and harsher when he said “Don’t touch me”. The room immediately quieted as Laurent’s hand limply fell to his side. Makoto continued to glare at him. Laurent swallowed.

“Okay then. Er, as I was saying, Edamura, you will be posing as a journalist for a popular magazine.”

Makoto’s expression immediately shifted back to a neutral one, and as Laurent continued his explanation, Makoto nodded along as if his earlier outburst never happened.

“He hates you.” Abby tells him one day without preamble.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Laurent replies with a lazy smile.

“No, I mean he really hates you. Before, he only acted like he hated you.”

Before Laurent can respond, Abby walks off.

When they finish the job, they hold a celebration, as per usual. When Laurent enters the room, Makoto is nowhere to be found. He finds Abby drinking champagne alone in a corner and approaches her.

“Where’s Edamura?” 

“He left.”

“Aw, without saying good-bye?”

“He did say good-bye. Just not to you.”

Makoto never answers his calls. Not that Laurent stops trying…at least until he gets a voice message telling him that the number he’s trying to dial has blocked him. So instead, he calls Oz.

“How are the kids doing?”

Oz explains how most of them are still recovering from the trauma of being sold off, but there has been steady progress. He’s even managed to get a few of the kids adopted, and when he informs Laurent of this, he can hear the smile in his voice.

“That’s great! Speaking of kids, have you been keeping in touch with your son?”

Smooth.

There’s a pause, before Oz lets out a long sigh and Laurent already knows the answer before his old friend starts talking.

“Makoto hasn’t been answering any of my calls. Not since the last job. And I honestly can’t say I blame him.” Oz sounds tired and defeated. “I’ve lost the right to call him my son a long time ago…”

Laurent grew up without a father, so he’s the last person to look to for repairing broken father-son relationships. So instead of offering up empty encouragement, all he can say is “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

He tries calling Abby. She doesn’t pick up until his third try.

“What do you want?”

“Why must you immediately assume I want something? Can’t I just call an old friend for-“

“Cut the crap and get straight to the point. You want to know about Makoto.”

“…You’re calling him by his first name now.”

“Yeah. He got annoyed that I kept pronouncing his last name wrong.”

“…I see.”

Laurent had only tried to call Makoto by his first name once, before the Suzaku con. Makoto had reacted with the same amount of over the top cartoonish disdain he’d normally displayed in the past, citing how they weren’t close enough to be on a mutual first name basis, and how he’d much rather endure having his last name constantly butchered. 

“So? Out with it.” Abby says, snapping Laurent from his thoughts.

“Oh, well I just wanted to know how he’s doing. He hasn’t been answering any of my calls, you see.”

“He’s doing fine. Next question.”

“Erm.”

“What?”

“Are you not going to elaborate?”

“No.”

“Oh, okay then.”

“Is that all? Then, I’m hanging up.”

“Wai-“

Laurent considers calling again, but stops himself. He wouldn’t want to risk Abby blocking him too.

Cynthia is his last hope. 

“Hello?”

“Ah, Cynthia! It’s me, Laurent!”

She laughs. “Yes, I know. I have caller ID.”

Laurent finds himself laughing along with her. After his phone call with Abby, it would seem that he’d briefly forgotten how most phone calls typically went.

“I just wanted to check on how London’s most beautiful mother was doing.”

“Only London?”

“Apologies. The world.”

Cynthia laughs again. “That’s more like it. So, what’s up? If it’s about another job-“

“Non, non, not this time. I actually wanted to ask about how things were going with Kawin.”

“Oh.” There’s genuine surprise in her voice, but Laurent tries not to let its underlying meaning behind it bother him.

“He’s doing pretty well. In fact, he just started attending school recently.”

“Really?”

“Yes! He’s even made some friends!” This is the most excited Laurent’s ever heard her, and it warms his heart.

“I’m glad to hear it. Truly.”

Cynthia hums. “But that’s not all you want to talk about, is it?”

“Am I really that transparent?”

“Always have been. Anyway, I heard from Abby that you’ve been calling about Makoto.”

“You’re calling him by his first name, too?” Laurent suddenly feels like he’s been left out of some exclusive club.

Cynthia laughs, but this time it sounds stilted. Like a child that was caught by their parent doing something they shouldn’t be doing. “Oh, Kawin’s been calling him that, so I guess I just picked up on it.”

“He’s been keeping in touch with Kawin?”

“Yes! It was Kawin’s idea, actually. Can you believe this? He actually felt guilty about not escaping with Makoto the first time. And, well, I’m sure you know how much guilt Makoto has about that job, too.” There’s a slight bite to words as she says this, but it’s hidden so well, Laurent almost misses it. “So, I’m sure you can imagine how awkward the first phone call must have been, with both parties feeling guilty for matters they were forced into.” Again, he can hear some bite in her tone, but it’s much more pronounced this time. Laurent says nothing and waits for Cynthia to continue.

“But then…Makoto started rambling about Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Kawin got completely absorbed by the sudden info dump. It turns out, he’s kind of a history nerd!” The bite from Cynthia’s earlier tone is now completely gone, replaced by warmth and affection. “And before I knew it, they started exchanging books and stories about different historical figures. Every time we get a package from Makoto, Kawin’s entire face just lights up!” Cynthia is laughing now, and Laurent finds himself laughing along with her. He really is genuinely happy to learn that Kawin and Makoto have forged a friendship despite their backgrounds. 

Cynthia’s voice suddenly becomes quiet. “I felt guilty too, about what happened with the Suzaku job. I knew what the plan was…how you planned to use Makoto. But I didn’t do anything to stop it. Which is why I’m asking you, for Makoto’s sake, to please not involve him in your plans anymore. Let him live the life he chooses. Let him go.”

Before Laurent can form any rebuttal, he hears the sound of a door slamming in the background and someone yelling “I’m home!” 

“Oh, that’s Kawin. I have to go.”

The line goes dead.

Laurent stares at his phone, and wonders for the first time if everything he’d done had been for Makoto’s sake, or his own.

When he sees Makoto again, it’s pure coincidence. He’s at a farmer’s market in Seoul when he notices the familiar mop of brown hair. He smiles and calls out to him. When Makoto sees him, his whole body goes rigid. There’s fear in his eyes. Actual, legitimate fear.

Makoto runs. 

Laurent calls after him, panicked. His legs are longer, and his pace is faster, so it doesn’t take long for him to catch up. Before the younger man can turn a corner, Laurent manages to snag his arm. Makoto continues to struggle, and it’s then that Laurent notices that his whole body is trembling.

“Edamura, why are you-“

“I don’t care what the job is, I don’t want to get involved!” His voice is shaky and it sounds like he’s on the verge of a panic attack.

As Laurent looks at him, scared, anxious, and shaking, he realizes just how wrong he was. Just how right Cynthia and Abby had been. He’d thought that he’d done for Makoto what Dorothy had done for him. He’d thought he’d made his life better, opened newer, better possibilities for him. Made him a better man.

He hears Dorothy’s phantom whisper in his ear. “Oh Laurie, look at what you’ve done to him. You’ve broken him.”

“Please, let go of me.” Makoto says, still refusing to look him in the eye.

Laurent looks at him one last time before he finally lets him go.