Author's note: This story is set in an AU shared with my best friend and co-author Jessie Blackwood. The idea that Ianto has a twin brother was first presented in her story 'Double Trouble'. This is the start of a tale from their childhood. I'll add to it as the muse takes me. I hope you like it.
Little boys should be seen and not heard
The car pulled up outside a large, low building. Ianto Jones regarded the place from his seat in the back of the car and decided he didn't like it here one little bit. The top half of the building was white, criss-crossed with wooden bars painted black; the lower part was of red brick. It reminded him of a family trip he had been taken on, to Stratford-upon-Avon. He and his twin brother, Gary, had been taken onto the river in a rowing boat that day by their Tad, and Ianto had fallen in.
Mrs. Thompson, the woman Ianto's mother had screamed at earlier, got out of the car and walked around to the door Ianto was leaning against. She pulled it open and he found himself tumbling out, his shoes scuffing on the sharp, white gravel of the drive as he struggled to regain his balance. Without a word to him, the Englishwoman took his hand and led him toward the front door of the imposing building. She rang the bell and a blonde-haired man opened it. The adults spoke briefly, in English, and then they all traipsed through the house until they reached an office at the rear of the building.
A red-headed man with a beard was sat in the office. He smiled when they all entered. Ianto clambered onto a chair and waited while the adults again spoke in English. He wondered if Gary was sitting in a similar room in some other part of the country, in the company of three similar strangers.
Ianto wasn't sure why Mrs. Thompson hadn't brought Gary with them. He suspected a lot of why his Mam had screamed at Mrs. Thompson was because she had forgotten to acquire Gary along with himself; the two of them were never separated for long. Ianto figured Gary would turn up shortly, once they had each made it clear that they went everywhere together.
Eventually the man behind the desk spoke directly to Ianto. He explained, in Welsh, though with an odd accent, that he was Mr. Fox and he was in charge at Ty Gobaith. He then explained that the man who let them in, Mr. Hill, was going to show Ianto to his room and help him unpack, and that after that he would be given something to eat and drink.
Ianto replied, quite slowly so that the man would understand him, that there had been a mistake made. His twin brother, Gary, had not been brought and needed to be located and fetched immediately, as they were inseparable. Mr. Fox smiled, although Ianto knew he didn't mean it, and replied that Gary would not be coming to live at Ty Gobaith; he was going to be staying with their Mam. Ianto shook his head and repeated what he had said before, more slowly still. Mrs. Thompson said something in English. Ianto's belief that she understood Welsh, even if she couldn't speak it, was confirmed as she referred to Gary several times whilst talking to Mr. Fox.
Once the adults had said whatever they needed to, and had each ignored Ianto's increasingly lengthy protestations, Mr. Hill half-escorted and half-shoved Ianto upstairs and along a corridor to a bedroom. There were four beds, two sets of drawers and two wardrobes in the room.
Mr. Hill said several things, in English. It sounded like he was explaining some things whilst trying to reassure Ianto about the day's proceedings. He put Ianto's case on the bed to the left of the door and started unpacking it, placing his belongings in the bottom of the nearest of the sets of drawers. Ianto waited, standing stock still in the middle of the room, watching carefully so that he could be sure where his things were later.