Title: Seventh Christmas
Fandom: D. Gray-Man
Pairing: Gen
Genres: Friendship, Historical, Pre-Canon
Length: Medium (5,627 words)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: Victoria Hughes @ FF.net

Author's Summary:
He was an abandoned child with no direction in his life, until he met the clown. Before Allen was a gentleman, he was a street rat.

Review:
This fic is rare in that it's one about Allen's childhood. I loved the urchin!Allen we saw glimpses of in canon, and this is a realistic look at what his life was like as a poor kid in Victorian London. Sick of working dangerous jobs in horrible conditions, he runs away to the circus. All the circus OCs are wonderfully realised, with the Bearded Lady being a man named Daniel, and the three Zulu Men actually from Wales.

Allen's relationship with Mana is understated and beautiful for it, with a jaded Allen slowly opening up to the prospect of an unconditional friendship. This is a lovely fic with an author that really masters the adage of 'show, don't tell.'

Seventh Christmas