It was time to move on. Forever.

This was his last goodbye.

Kira raised his glittering glass to the ceiling, mesmerized by the cool tinted hue of the lively drink. It bubbled and fizzed in its vessel, a symbol of the New Year and their future. Suddenly the cheerful vision blurred, and the amethyst eyes of the young Coordinator began to sting with a fierce persistence. He forced the feeling away with a solid resolution, tilting back his head and draining the glass elegantly, his thoughts locked on the memories of those who could not be with him to celebrate. He thought of them all one last time.

Mu La Flaga and Natarle Badgiruel, Tolle, and…

A shining tear coursed its way down the young boy's face, and then he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He lifted his gaze, and amethyst met azure with an electrifying intensity.

"Kira." The blue-haired youth let his face split with a tiny grin. "We're going to be making a toast soon." He studied the weary face of his childhood friend before going on, immediately discerning the reason for his friend's delicate tears. "There's no need to carry the burden of their loss alone. Say goodbye to them one last time aloud, where they can hear you. I'm sure they'll be listening." He draped an arm around the brunette's shoulders as the young boy let out a stifled sob.

Flay…

"We lost a lot of friends," Athrun went on, "But tonight as the New Year begins, we'll send them off with our cherished memories and start again. They'd want us to move forward."

"Yes," Kira nodded in agreement, "Of course." He then gasped as he was bombarded from behind by a multitude of colorful Haros, soon to be followed by the pink princess of peace herself.

"Oh, hello Kira. Hi there Athrun," Lacus chased happily after her Haros and succeeded in halting one before it settled itself in the punch bowl. "I was looking for you. Isn't this wonderful? The lights and decorations…" her eyes widened as she caught sight of the brunette. "Why Kira, have you been crying?"

Kira brushed a hand across his eyes and gave her a soft smile. "I'm fine."

"Then, let's go find the others, shall we?" the bright-eyed girl let her long melon-hued hair trail behind her as she bounded off after her shoal of mechanical pets.

Athrun chuckled lightly as he watched her set off. "Looks like Lacus is the same as always," he observed, amused by her enduring innocence and childlike antics. "She's going to sing for us later."

"I'd love to hear that," Kira answered just as he felt a pair of arms encircle him from behind.

He stiffened at first, unused to such close contact, but the tension leaked out of his shoulders as he caught sight of a strand of blonde hair and felt the sobs against the nape of his neck. He turned around and embraced her, and his sister melted weakly into his arms.

"Kira," she choked, "I can't stand it! So many people are gone, and everyone is celebrating like there's nothing to it!"

"Cagalli…" Kira's own sorrow evaporated at the sight of the girl in his arms. He had to be strong, at least for his sister's sake.

"You too, Cagalli?" Athrun teased, winking at her as she glanced up in alarm.

"A-Athrun!" she stammered, rubbing the heel of her hand roughly across her eyes in a hurry.

"Didn't know you were the type to break down in the middle of a party like this," he announced sneakily, grinning at her with an impish light in his azure eyes that caused her to blush.

"What are you talking about? I wasn't crying!" All at once her usual glare had been pasted on anew, and Athrun found himself ducking as she took a swing at him.

The sadness in her pretty face had disappeared, and Kira threw his childhood friend a grateful look before turning once more to his sister. "You sure you'll be all right, Cagalli?"

"Of course! I'm perfectly fine, can't you see that?" She seized the arm of the blue-haired Coordinator and pulled him across the dance floor. "Let's go say hello to Dearka and the others. Come on."

"I'm coming," Athrun protested, "No need to be so pushy, Princess."

"Don't call me a princess."

Kira laughed as he trailed behind them. Dearka was deep in conversation with Miriallia, and Yzak leaned huffily against the wall, pretending not to pay attention. When the silver-haired youth caught sight of them approaching, he unfolded his arms and set to berating them with a passion.

"Zala! Yamato! It's about time." Though he sneered disdainfully, Kira thought the former ZAFT pilot's eyes held a hint of strange content at their arrival.

Dearka turned to greet them as well. "Mir and I were just discussing whether or not Yzak could manage to stay up all night with the rest of us." The tanned boy smiled mischievously as his friend boiled at the statement.

"If any of us is going to fall asleep, Elsman, it'll be you," Yzak snorted. "You'll pass out from an alcohol overdose before you make it until midnight."

"It's almost midnight now," Cagalli announced, fixing her golden eyes on the enormous clock that adorned the hall. Its hands glittered silver as the light hit them, and the numbers shone with an unearthly glow as well.

"Quarter 'till midnight now," Athrun exclaimed, suddenly flushing as the princess of Orb brushed against him.

"Excuse me!"

The group looked up as the sweet, melodious voice of Lacus Clyne echoed through the buzzing room. "We're now going to have our toast! I'd like to start now, if you please." A hush fell over the crowd, and all eyes were locked on the delicate girl as she stood on the center dais. "This is to all the unnamed soldiers that gave their lives so that this war might be brought to a swift end, and that we might all live in peace with the memory of their honorable sacrifice resting deep in our hearts."

Her words pierced the silence like the sound of silver bells, and there came a chorus of agreement from the onlookers. For a moment there was silence as everyone drank to her statement, then Dearka immediately raised his glass.

The blonde cleared his throat before proceeding. "To Tolle Koenig," he called, and Miriallia gasped and put her hands to her mouth. "Brave soldier and pilot of the Skygrasper who gave his life to protect his friends." He held the shocked Natural girl tight as she clung to him.

Athrun lifted his fizzling champagne. "Here," he said before preparing to speak himself, but to his surprise Yzak stepped up in front of him.

"This is for someone who died before he even got the chance to live," the silver-haired youth began, his eyes narrowed. "He didn't deserve to die, but his sacrifice saved a fellow soldier's life. I always thought he was too soft, and a coward, but I was wrong. This is for Nicol Amalfi."

Athrun's eyes widened in astonishment, and without another word, Yzak drained his entire glass with a vengeance.

"For the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman, Siegel Clyne," Athrun piped up, taking his chance to speak with vigor, "And to Lord Uzumi Nara Athha of Orb Union, both men who have passed their legacies into the hands of their daughters." He nodded once to both Cagalli and Lacus.

"And to Mr. Patrick Zala," Lacus retaliated with a soft smile, "Whose determination and courage shines through in his son."

There was a period of silence, and Kira clenched his fists tightly. Finally, he stepped forward to say his piece, knowing that it meant the end of his sorrow and mourning. He'd give his friends a glorious send-off to wherever it was they were destined for, and he'd be able to move on.

"To Lieutenant Commander Mu La Flaga, the man who always claimed he could make the impossible possible. He gave his life for the crew of the Archangel. He was there to encourage and protect, a man who always saw the bright side, but who left behind a loyal group of allies and took the heart of Captain Murrue Ramius. To Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel, a woman who knew the sacrifices of war and who tried her best to see the whole picture at all costs. She stood by her beliefs until the bitter conclusion, though it ended her life. And to Flay Allster," his voice cracked, "A girl who knew the value of friendship, though she didn't always know how to show it, and didn't always handle things appropriately. She blamed the wrong people, and was traumatized by the death of her father. It took her until the end to sort out her feelings, and the life was stolen from her just as she realized where she wanted her life to go. Her thirst for forgiveness was fulfilled, however, and I'll never forget her."

Lacus let a respectful silence pass, and she noticed that tears ran down many cheeks. After a pause, she raised her cool blue eyes and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Now, if you will please join me in a requiem for those that have passed on." She lifted her head and let out the first beautiful notes that echoed around the hall, falling on the ears of the audience and striking a glorious chord.

The sound was of the sweetest sort ever heard; the melody carried them beyond the sadness and the regret, hinting at the possibility of a peaceful sleep for those lost, and happy times for the future of the rest. It commemorated the soldiers and civilians that gave their lives for peace, it sung their passage into the heavens. The dead would never be forgotten, and her song reverberated throughout the hall, the clear notes finishing at a height just as the clock began to strike twelve.

As the last gong stuck, an eruption of cheers exploded through the room, and vigorous shouts of "Happy New Year" rang all the way to the rafters.

Kira smiled through his tears, and as Athrun grabbed him around the waist, his sadness was forgotten as he spied his friend's serene face.

"Kira, happy New Year!" the azure-eyed youth cried, pulling the brunette close. They clinked their sparkling champagne glasses together, both of them smiling as if there were no happier place on Earth.