Jimin leaned through the open car door, scolding her boyfriend like he was little more than a child. "We drove eight hours, you have to do this for yourself. Closure at least, y'know?"

Todd scowled all through unfolding his limbs out of the car. He looked like a slow, sour jack-in-the-box, and if it were up to Todd, the ra-ta-tat of a snare drum would be playing for him.. Why not sleep in the car? he wallowed in his negativity, dragging his feet through the slush, purposefully ruining the pristine snow blanketed look he knew his mother loved. Why not die in the cold? It'd be a warmer welcome.

Jimin grabbed his hand, pulling him faster. So much for him dragging out the time between meeting his abuser and living happily. She also hauled him up the front steps and rang the doorbell, pulling his wool coat straight and curly hair in order before nestling herself next to him. No method of pulling Todd's long face into a smile existed with what faced him, so she didn't bother.

"Hello?" The monster herself pulled the door open, matching the boisterous cheer inside, "What can we do for you two?"

Let me run away, Todd opened his mouth, but memories of her frigid hands and callous remarks constricted his throat. Let me go on my own terms.

"Mrs. Swentishi?" Jimin shattered the surmounting silence.. Obviously she'd heard the tales, but he kept no mementos of the woman who abandoned him.

"That's me! What'dya need?"

Todd lightly tapped on Jimin's hand, he needed to do this.

Something incomprehensible squeaked out of his throat.

He needed to do this.

"Mom..." he croaked out, refusing to let her bully him into tears with so little effort.. Her jaw fell, the shock of discovery stripped her of her holiday facade. Swallowing over the insults he wanted to spew back at her, over the injustices he was forced to endure at her hand, he continued, "just thought, uh, I'd drop by for the-- the holi-- for christmas."

"I'm Jimin, the girlfriend!" She chimed in, although she kept her eyes to Todd. If he needed a getaway she had already agreed to be the bouncer who'd ensure him a way out.

Todd's mother took a step back from the doorway, barricading the entrance, debating whether or not to let a ghost into her home.

"Helena, shut the door, you're letting the cold in!" Aunt Susana whined from the house, forcing the mother to welcome in her son, instead of leaving him on the street as she was apt to do.

In the pine scented cheer, Todd could see his mother plaster a smile to her face. Why not try to fix this family like it was a mug shattered against the wall, piece by piece, oozing glue and, ultimately, ugly.

"Guess who came to visit?" she clamoured, getting the attention of everyone. A glance over her shoulder twisted her christmas smile. Once again Todd could see it as the same veneer over disgust and hatred that unwillingly seeped through his nightmares.

Aunts, who perched above the hors d'oeuvres stopped their gossiping, uncles quieted down their harping on each other. Cousins, new, young ones, still ran amok, but the ones Todd grew up with turned to look at him.

"Hey, everyone," he shrugged to shake the awkward weight of introduction off of his shoulders. "I don't know what mom told you but I'm-"

"It's Michelle!" She interrupted, shooting a glare to Todd. "After all that time spent ran away she came back, what a Christmas miracle!"

"Actually-"

"And she brought her college friend, Jin, right?"

Jimin, god bless her, intertwined her and Todd's fingers before cooing far too sweetly, "You're really bad with names Mrs. Swentishi! I'm Jimin and he's Todd!"

"Oh, sorry, Jimin," his mother laughed it off, rushing to set the table their family buzzed around for a while now. "Michelle, be a good girl and come help me with setting up, it's just about time'ta dig in!"

What else had I expected, Todd ground his teeth together. His mother dragging that name up from the dead only fueling the fire. Michelle he lamented, bitterness radiating through him, a dead name for a girl who doesn't exist anymore.

"I've got it!" Aunt Susana nudged Todd on her way into the kitchen, flashing him a wink before turning to her sister. A practiced smile spanned their lives together. Todd could only recount rivalry between them. Whenever she visited in the past, Susana would never fail to challenge Todd's mother on anything she could; if a recipe was altered, Susana would be certain to find the homegrown faults, if their children were allowed to do different things, Susana would always argue her way was better, most importantly though, when Todd came out, Susana made sure to support him despite everything his mother said. Once upon a time he thought about staying with her instead of in street trash, but he didn't want to be found. He didn't want to see her again. He didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to spend a holiday with her.

The long table acted as an executioner's block for Todd, he could already see his mother sharpening her arsenal of side comments at the head of the table. All he could do was cushion the blow with Jimin between them, and the near entirety of the table, Aunts Susana and her children effectively claiming this side.

"Todd?" Jimin spoke loudly, intentionally to clue his family in on which name was right, "Could you hand me the butter?"

As he passed the butter, his mother had to chime in, "Michelle could you pass me it as well?"

But screw her, Todd grit his teeth and ignored her. Ignored the only person who should unconditionally love him about him disregarding his identity. Ignored, just as he had for twelve years since running away, the bile that squirmed up his throat when he thought about her.

"Don't be rude, Michelle!" His mother clucked her tongue at him.

Jimin placed her hand on Todd's knee under the table, offering a dingy in a hurricane.

"Michelle!" She snapped, pounding her fork down on the table and cutting of the tense chattering around the table.

Susana stood violently, "Helena!"

"I agree, Mrs. Swentishi," Jimin stood up, tugging on Todd to get him to stand as well.

Todd's mother now stood as well, staring them down from the head of the table. "What do you agree with Ming? She didn't say anything, and you both are being awfully rude guests."

A "You-" ripped it's way from Todd's throat, but Aunt Susana laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

Then she ripped into Helena herself. "Helena, you're the only rude one here. You're the only one bigoted enough to push away your own son, who, after being cast out of this family who loves him for who he is as not a girl, came back to mend things with his monster of a mother."

"It's not bigoted to love my daughter!" Helena whimpered, the weight of the glares she threw to others compounding on her.

"It is when you don't have one," Jimin chimed in, before Susana returned to her favorite pastime of putting Helena in her place.

Stalking over to where Helena stood, Susana made certain to get in her face. "Do you know how worried sick I was, we-" she gestured to their family, "didn't see him after your fight? Did you ever check the papers to see if he would turn up dead because you kicked him out? Like I did, like anyone who would actually care about him like a mother should would? Or was it always about you, about your backwards ideas and about your unwillingness to learn about your son. About how far you could stick your fingers in your ears and your head up your ass, Helena?"

"...I-"

"Would you have even taken him in again if I didn't force you to at the door?"

Todd's mother had lost her steam, gripping the tablecloth weakly. "...I, uh, I di--er, uh,"

After an era of stuttering and hush, she finally turned to Todd, "This isn't the best dinner, huh?"

"Not really..." He mumbled, the wad of repressed emotions sticking his words to his mouth.

With a the tentative inklings of a smile Todd had never seen, one without a hint of disgust his mother spoke up, "Are you available for easter, Mich--Todd?"