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The rain was dulling down to that slow curtain of doom Ianto came to expect this time of day. He was closing up the store when he saw movement out the corner of his eye and he turned his head to watch the woman trying to get her purchases in the back of a cab. She was struggling with the umbrella, the copious bags and the torrential rain blasting her with the sudden wind that had him grimacing.

He was about to take a step towards her to help when he recognised her, a wet slap to the face, he stepped back and swung away before she liked up and saw him. His heart was slamming in his chest as he swallowed thickly, the hot tears prickling at the corner of his eyes were so bloody infuriating as he started to walk away quickly without glancing back.

It had been his mother.

Well … The one who had once been his mother… before she gave him away to his grandparents so she could focus more on Rhiannon, his older…. Sick…. sister. It had been a weekend at first… then a few weeks… then a few months… the time between seeing Rhiannon getting farther and farther apart until … their 'mistaken' allegations that led to months of hell for Ianto... they totally separated themselves from him and he became… well … an orphan on paper … then finally four years after their initial decision to focus on her treatments instead of both children … she died.

Just like that.

A phone call to his grandfather late at night, him sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing his grandson's 14 ½ year old back while gently telling him his sister he had not seen ages, still begged to see… was gone. She had been seventeen and a half, not even made it to eighteen. Ianto had wept and mourned her, the friendship they once had that had been cleaved in two and then came the most hurtful thing… the most painful thing… no funeral.

What?

.

.

"Your parents want a private funeral, they just want to say goodbye and cremate her" his Grandfahter grimaced, watching the boy's face crumble as he last chance to see her was gone. "Immediate family only."

"But… what about me?" Ianto asked softly "They will come get me… right? Even after everything they did… I can still say goodbye?"

Ianto had not listened to them, had got changed into his church clothes and waited for them at the front gate all day… they did not come. He finally accepted that he was considered family, even if a cousin came to visit three months later and confided in Grandmother that is was a lovely service.

What?

"Damn, I wish you had not heard that Boy" the old man groaned once he found the teen breaking his heart in the shed out back "We hoped they would… damn it… your Grandmother spoiled her ya know… look at me."

Ianto looked up with soulful eyes, so old and intelligent that Ifan knew he could not lie to the boy. "They said seeing you, so young and full of like would only upset them, remind them that she never got the chance."

"She never?" Ianto scoffed "What about me? I never got the chance to be their son… her brother… I was…I was sacrificed. Yeah. That's the word. Sacrificed. Like cutting the fat… I was unwanted and cast aside so they could have her all to themselves. Did they think that she would live? Get better? No one survives the form of cancer she was fighting. If they had let her die sooner she would have had a better life, not eh last few years in hospital on those fucking machines!"

Ifan drew back "How did you know that?"

"You think I didn't find her?" Ianto laughed hollowly "I found her over a year ago. Sometimes I would sneak for the library over and read to her. She knew what they did. At least I had those stolen moments they ever knew about. Now I call myself Jones, like you… they let me in as they do not know I am the brother. Fucking arseholes. If that is how they want it… fine. They have lost the only child they loved, clearly. So … now they are childless. I am fine with that. There is no offspring with the name Livingstone."

.

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Ianto had been true to his word, refusing invitations to family events if they were there, cutting out more family members that stuck up for them, making his life the best he could while his grandparents loved him.

His Grandmother died, her brain aneurysm in the kitchen while preparing supper with Ianto who had no choice but to hold her and weep….horrible and painful. His parents were on some cruise and could not get back for over a week… like planes did not exist? Fine. Ianto buried her with his Grandfather, the family both ashamed and awed by the young man who walked confidently around telling people to please use coasters under their drinks or Nainny would haunt them. They all saw him place a single rose on the grave of his sister, his lips to her gravestone so damned sad. More than one ashamed for his unnecessary and cruel treatment.

Grandmother had left everything to her husband so there was no need for a will reading and Ianto did not need to see them. Learning that they had settled in Spain had not upset him one bit… surely not as much as it would have for them to learn there would be no inheritance to help pay for their villa they had just made a down-payment on the day after being told of her demise.

They adopted another child… did you know? Yeah. Another little girl who they could dote on and gush over… only this one… this little star was healthy. They made sure of that. Yeah. Ianto violently ill when a distant cousin showed everyone the Christmas Card of the two of them holding the little girl between them with glee, the caption 'our little family' cut deep. The necklace around the little one's neck that he had given Rhiannon for her tenth birthday telling.

He continued to burn letters, Christmas cards with that familiar scrawl of his mother and that one year she tricked him by having someone else address it, he could not help but laugh as he fed it to the flames.

And here we are... Grandfahter so ill and frail and suddenly his parents are back in town?

What a coincidence.

Right?