Gifts, no.

They were more than gifts.

They were love... and they would be memories for years to come. If the years do come.

Calloway sat at the table, the box of presents being presented before his eyes on the sturdy coffee table wood.

He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply before exhaling out heavily.

He wiped the wet tears away from his old eyes and gulped the littlest, picking up the first wrapped paper gift and seeing the name that was tagged onto it from a sticker.

To Clay, From Moon.

He gave the smallest smirk possible, unwrapping the paper gently and seeing it was a pair of gloves that had lightning strikes stitched on them.

To remind him of the time he met the koala and porcupine.

He couldn't hold in his weak laugh, and put the big gloves on, covering his cold sore paws. He held up the design to his eyes... they fit him perfectly.

His electric gate keeping out all the world... Buster Moon... Ash -

He shook his head then quickly, trying to shake the sad thoughts from his mind. He picked up the next gift, looking at the shoddy packaging and when he opened it he realized quickly whose gift it was.

Johnny's.

It was a scarf, and he only shook his head with a smile. He picked up the next present and the next.

Each one a symbol of love and friendship.

He mostly got clothing items from his group of co-workers, and that was enough.

There was only one gift left... one he HAD left to the end... because he didn't want to feel.

Feel what? The remorse... the sadness.

Of the girl he loved, if he would allow himself to love again.

But he bit his bottom lip and slowly, and hesitantly, reached for the wrapped present, tearing it open and just freezing when he saw what it was.

A mug... a mug with a photo imprinted of him and everyone he knew from the show.

It was printed on it like anything would be when it came to mugs, but he just shut his eyes quickly, gulping and sitting back now on his own armchair. His heart was beating fast, his eyes crinkled tightly shut.

And all he saw in his thoughts, memories were of those who loved him. Who cared for him... who wanted him as part of their friend group, almost family.

But why? Why did they want him...? All he did was... well? Nothing... he brought nothing good into the world.

Besides his voice... his songs.

He didn't know how the thought came to him, but he quickly got up from his armchair and headed over to his old office room.

He looked at the back of his computer, switching it on and waiting for the screen to light up.

With all his wealth, he knew nothing about technology. Only old devices, he wasn't bothered to learn how to use the new.

Soon the monitor turned on properly and he could hear the internet connecting. The very slow, old way.

There were ringing and dialling sounds, but once everything was connected and moving smoothly, he typed his name into Google and watched as the results came up.

And there it was.

His name on a site that said, The official Clay Calloway fan site.

He remained frozen in anticipation and intrigue. Afraid that if he did move, the whole world would shatter as he waited for the site to load.

And it did load.

That was when he saw the information all his fans had on him. Pictures of him in his hay day, news articles when he was at the top of his career.

And the following sad news about his wife dying and him completely disappearing from the world.

He felt a sad tear streak down from his eye, and he pressed some more links on the page, looking to see what animals said about him.

His music changed my life, I didn't know I could feel such things from music.

Only some things touch the soul, and Calloway's music is that for me.

The world lost something great when it lost Calloway's songs.

He kept going through the stories of his fans and how much he meant to them. Each fan had their name signed underneath their words, so he searched for the one fan that meant more to him than even himself now.

Ash.

He scrolled down the page, his old weary eyes scanning the screen, and soon, atlas, there were her beautiful crystal clear words.

Clay Calloway is not just a brilliant singer and songwriter, he is someone who understands animals' minds, their hearts and their feelings.

When his wife died, we didn't just lose her, but also a great lion.

I hope one day he recovers and sees the world again and all those that love him... but I don't know.

I hope I meet this beautiful soul one day... someday, before it's too late.

I hope...

The lion sat frozen still when he finished reading Ash's final words.

It was clear that she had not updated the page in at least a year or two... oh, and how so many things had changed since that time.

Now, he knew in his heart that he wanted this beautiful soul himself...

The soul not being him... but Ash.

He closed his eyes as tears streamed down his cheeks and felt a cold paw press on his shoulder, making him look around and see her.

A ghostly Ruby with a sure smile on her lips as she only looked at him with happy eyes, and he looked back at her... smiling in return... he was slowly healing inside.

Slowly but surely.

He asked her, "Are you sure...?"

She squeezed his shoulder so very gently and nodded her head.

"Clay," She whispered to him and he slowly stood up, away from the computer, "Only you know..."

He began to weep but hugged her ghostly figure, and she... she hugged him back.

"Ruby... if I go after her-"

"If... you do... it'll be okay. Because I'll always be here for you... because," She said, her own pale eyes frozen in diamond glittering tears, "I just want you to be happy... be free."

"But is it too late?" He wept, holding her cold see-through figure still close to him and she pat him on the back, as she began to fade.

"Nothing is ever too late... you have now, and that's all that matters..."

That's all...

She faded from him completely now, Clay falling forward just the slightest, losing his hold on his dead wife and stumbling trying to stand straight and tall now.

He stayed still for a few moments more, noticing the warmth in the room was returning now... bringing him back to reality.

Back to the ticking of the clocks.

He knew at that moment that he didn't want to hold himself back any longer.

"No regrets," He whispered to himself, "Just this moment... just right now."

He heard it start dinging, the grandfather clock in the living room. He slowly nodded his head to himself and went to the kitchen, turning on his kettle and waiting for the water to reach boiling point.

Once it did, he poured himself some tea and leaned against the kitchen bench as he slowly drank it down.

In his grip was the new mug he had received that day, that Christmas. The tea was hot and soothing to his mouth and taste buds.

As he took the last swallow, he placed the mug on the smooth bench and began to leave the room.

He was going to head to the place he needed to be.

The place he wanted to be.

But the snow was heavy outside... his house was so far away.

He was trapped it seemed... but would that stop him?

Had it stopped him before?

~x~

Ash was on her family's porch, gazing at the stars alone. In her own hand was a warm mug, filled with hot tea that kept her inside warm and heated.

She wished she could see something up there in the universe that would put her heart at ease... But this Christmas... it hurt.

And not just with her injured arm that was in a sling.

No, it was her heart that was hurting deep inside with the loss of her idol. As he had chosen misery instead of her.

Ash shivered a little, shaking away this petty thought as best she could.

That wasn't the whole truth, and she knew he was hurting... but he couldn't see in return that he was hurting her back.

She loved him... and she had lost him. Would the two ever be back on good terms? Would the two ever find each other again?

"I wish..." Ash said to herself quietly as a shooting star swept by. She smiled a sad broken smile and continued in sadness, "I wish he would see me... for me... and not a replacement of... of her..."

She took a sip of her tea again and closed her eyes, the warm liquid going through her core being.

"But most of all..." She continued and gave the smallest huff of a sad laugh, looking back up to the universe beyond grasp, "I wish for him to be happy..."

She became quiet after that and stood on that cold icy porch as the night went by... Christmas nearly over.

And he hadn't made it back...

He hadn't made it back.