FIC: The Perfect Tree, or: Ando and Christmas. A drama in many acts.

[lovelylytton]

Title: The Perfect Tree, or: Ando and Christmas. A drama in many acts.
Characters: Ando, cameos by others.
Rating: PG (a bit of swearing, but it’s not too bad)
Spoiler warning: All of Airmail, and the first four chapters of On Razor's Edge.
A/N: For my friend Charlie and her Secret Santa exchange at shitennou_ai. Charlie, who is utterly wonderful and genuinely

Comments

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[venusorbit1]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW THAT LAST LINE AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

OH MY GOD YOU WROTE SQUISHY LOVEY REI/ANDO!!!! I LOVE IT! I LOVE THAT HE FINALLY GETS SOME HAPPY WITH REI!

I LOVE HOW SHE TERRORIZED MINAKO! MINAKO HAS THE 15 FOOT TREE, RIGHT?

OH GOD I LOVE BABY ANDO AND WHEN HE IS SAD, I AM SAD, AND HIS PARENTS SUCK AND BLOW. I LOVE WHEN HE DISCOVERS THE WORD "SUCKS". I LOVE THAT HE LOVES HIS HELP. I LOVE THE PROGRESSION OF YEARS IN THIS. I LOVE THIS PIECE!! I'M SO HAPPY!

Re: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[lovelylytton]

Minako is Santa's most earnest disciple. She has EVERYTHING. All the ornaments, all the fairylights, big glowing reindeer figurines, the hat, EVERYTHING.

HIS PARENTS SUCK AND BLOW.
When I knew I was writing a secret santa fic for Charlie, Ando was a given, and then I realised I could make most of this by explaining why he is such a cranky curmudgeon at times. He was the saddest little boy at Christmas, the saddest little boy ever.

But now he's all happy and cuddly on the couch! See what happens when you go awol for a few months? I WRITE FLUFF.

[venusorbit1]

So what did he get her? And vice versa? I MUST KNOW.

[lovelylytton]

Ummm.... ummm, I don't know. I'll have a think on it.

[warriorofice]

Oh, the beginning with the interactions (or lack thereof) between Ando and his parents is so sad, but I LOVE the language. Everything is just spot-on. His mother telling him Santa Claus doesn't exist and perfunctorily giving him a gift, then making sure the baubles are 15 cm apart!! Oh, no, the poodle gets to come ;; I can really see Ando as a little kid and at age 9, and I love that he moves the baubles and tosses the banknotes into the fire. This is awesome backstory for Ando.

Love all the things that are hit -- life-long love affair, love at first sight and OMG THE ENDING IS FLUFFY AIRMAIL AND HE GOT HER A PRESENT AFTER ALL AND SHE'S OKAY WITH IT AND GOT HIM ONE TOO. Yay!!!

[lovelylytton]

This is awesome backstory for Ando.
Thank you! I realised at some point I would have to explain what has turned him into the person he is, because while he can be very nice and very attentive, he's also an extremely complicated person, so I thought: oh yes, naturally. Christmas. His parents. The poodle. And here we are.

I'm so glad you enjoyed this, thank you very much for your wonderful comment! (I've seen that you have written TONS in the last few weeks, the second I have a bit of free time I will devour it all!)

[senshifan]

Ok, v totally stole my comment! That was so unfair! lol
But I shall reiterate anyway.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWSSSSSS! That was so freaking AWESOME-SAUCE! The last line is the best of the entire story and makes up for all the pain I felt reading about sad lil Ando. It made me squee. Out loud. For a very long time. (My mom looked at me like I had grown another head!)

Seriously, you're like some kind of creative genius! Your fluff is just..... so....... FLUFFY!!!! I WANT IT FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!

[lovelylytton]

I am best pleased that my fluffy fluff, rare as it is, appealed to you! Of course, I had an inkling you would enjoy an Ando-centric fic, and one with a happy R/J ending to boot. :D

Thank you very much for your lovely comment!

[apsaraqueen]

[lovelylytton]

I would never try to convince you it wasn't. Hehehe, that baby is hilarious!

this just explains SO MUCH about him, and elaborates on everything we've read between the lines about his charater in airmail and razor's edge so beautifully. the literatus, the people person, the contrarian, the guy who waited, like, two decades for rei to come around - because i guess someone who's waited that long for a little love in his life can wait a little longer, no?
I want to wrap this comment in silk tissue and keep it safely stored away somewhere indestructable. I am so happy that you like this, so happy! And yes, I was hoping to make use of this to explain a bit about what made Ando so... well, Ando. He really didn't have it easy, and is as starved for affection as he is uncompromising. Difficult bugger, but you know: it's all because of the poodle.