After a moment, Duo looked up at his friend and asked, "Do you think he means it?"
"It's Quatre. Of course he means it," Heero answered without hesitation.
Duo worried his lower lip between his teeth as he reread the message again…and again, dread building in his stomach. The inevitable loss. He knew it would come, but now? So soon? It was only December. Unbelievably, inconceivably December. Looking up at Heero, he murmured, "Are you gonna do it?"
Heero looked away as he pondered the question, and Duo recognized the war blazing in the other's eyes. It mirrored the one in his gut. Could we? Should we? After a moment, Heero's blue eyes met his own and he said, "Yes. It's time."
Author: lifeaftermeteor (3x4, 1x2, 5xR) 264k across 24 fics
Having survived the Eve War, the Gundam pilots are left to their own devices to chart the paths their lives will take in a world that none of them expected to live long enough to see. Peace is disorienting and growing up is hard to do. Notes: This series is structured as day-in-the-life shorts which follow the characters (primarily the five pilots) through their lives following the events of AC 195 and the Mariemaia Insurrection of AC 196. For reference, only the events of "Episode Zero," the television series, the Operation Meteor: Odd and Even Numbers OVAs, and "Endless Waltz" are considered canon materials.
My notes: I included this here because it focuses on all the pilots, shifting between them, so it doesn't really fall into one or the other category. It's full of epic worldbuilding that portrays post-war life for the pilots. It’s a rocky, realistic road for Quatre and Trowa - all of them, really - but they made me care enough to read through it all.