A/N: ya'll thought Naki was next?? SurPRISE JUUZOU GETS A VIP PASS because that sweet child needs a 'mom/dad friend' s/o 'cause poor Hanbee can't do that all on his own and I can't get Naki's character right.

ALSO SURPRISE SURPRISE THE READER'S HUMAN, BUT NOT A QUINX!! *loud cheering*

Juuzou Suzuya.

God, how could one person give you so much trouble, yet make it all worth it?

You've been by his side for three years now, and you were glad. There were no boring days with that kid around. It had been entertaining watching him give Shinohara so much trouble while you could sit back and enjoy the show with some pop corn and a peeved off Takizawa, and now, you could sit back until he made a fool of himself and have you and Hanbee run after him to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble.

Not that you complained. As weird as he could be, you couldn't help feeling so affectionate around him (and by extension his—or well, your— squad). People like him in this world were rare, and you'd do anything to ensure that he lives on and remains happy his entire life.

Some could say you love him, and you wouldn't say they're wrong, as unprofessional as it is.

"(Y/N)-chan, why'd you bring those earbuds with you again?" Juuzou asked as you all prepared yourself for the nearing operation, ripping you our of your thoughts. You had a habit of thinking over things like that before battle.

"First; don't call me that, I'm still your subordinate. Second, music helps me focus." You said as you plugged said earbuds into your phone and clicked the playlist entitled 'battle'.

"You won't be able to hear the ghouls approaching with that music," Mizurou warned.

"Au contraire, mon cher," you said. "It helps a lot in battle."

He gave you a slightly disapproving look.

"For me, anyways." You added, fixing the strap on your arm, making sure the XIII was showing.

"It still seems pretty risky when fighting as a squad." Hanbee countered.

Were they all against you today? Sheesh.

"What's wrong with listening to music?" You were getting rather defensive and it was annoying you.

"The real question would be what's wrong with listening to music in the battle field?" Nakarai asked, glaring at you.

"Answer: everything." Mikage answered.

"You could get us killed!" Mizurou exclaimed.

"Alright, that's a bit over the top- hey!" You complained as you felt someone rip your earbuds right out of your ears, effectively taking away your phone and source of focus with them. "Suzuya!" You complained.

"I'll give them back to you after the operation, promise!" He gave you one of his sweet smiles. The ones you couldn't resist.

"...fine. But don't blame me if the squad performance isn't as good as usual!" You warned.

As soon as you ended your sentence, the CCG truck stopped, signalling that you arrived at your destination, and to some, their last destination.

"Can't believe we'd be scolding (Y/N), out of everyone." Nakarai grumbled, getting out of the car.

"It's payback for all the times she pretended to be our mom!" Mizurou said, jumping out of the vehicle next.

Mikage and Hanbee left without a word, and you grabbed your quinque to jump out next. "I do not pretend to be your mom! You're all just so childish that SOMEONE has to do something, and that someone happens to be me, since it seems I'm the only actual adult in the squad!" You clarified.

Once on the ground, you turned around—facing the CCG truck— and spotted Juuzou standing on the edge of the vehicle, making grabbing motions at you, smirking. "(Y/N)-chaaaaann~" he whined.

"I'm NOT a mom..." You grumbled as you lifted the man child and set him down on the ground.

Mizurou and Nakarai snorted at the hypocritical gesture, making you unbelievably angry.

"Alright, let's go!" Juuzou cheered, completely forgetting the (embarrassing) recent event as if it were nothing.

"I'm not a mom!" You yelled at the mocking duo. "If... If anything, Hanbee's the mom friend!" You blamed, pointing at the freakishly tall man.

"I'm Suzuya's right hand man." He clarified.

"So it doesn't count!" Mizurou cheered. "You're a mom!"

"I'll make you eat your words, young man..." You growled.

••••

"Nakarai and Mikage are down!" You warned, "If this keeps going like this, we won't even be able to hold out until back up arrives!" Your heart beat increased tenfold as you barely managed to dodge a ghoul's bikaku kagune.

"Hanbee, make sure Nakarai and Mikage are safe! (Y/N)-chan, Mizurou and I will handle the last one!" Juuzou ordered.

"Last one? There are three left-" Before Hanbee could finish, Juuzou's quinque sliced through the ghoul that nearly got to you earlier, and Mizurou decapitated a Koukaku ghoul.

"Alright, seems fair enough." You stated and catched up to Juuzou as Hanbee reluctantly stayed by your two wounded colleagues.

The last one soon appeared to be a chimera ghoul, and it wasn't going well. You and Mizurou visibly struggled to avoid its attacks, and you has trouble swinging your quinque correctly due to the exhaustion.

"Suzuya senpai, (Y/N) looks like she's gonna pass out any minute now!" Mizurou warned.

"Am not! Don't even say stuff like that in battle, Mizurou Tamaki! It's dangerous!" You scolded as you dodged a swing of your opponent's kagune.

"Tch. Yes, mom- ARGH!"

"You idiot!" You yelled as Mizurou flew into the opposing wall, too occupied annoying you to dodge the kagune that was obviously swinging in his direction. "We need to practice your reflexes!" You called out.

Suzuya managed to push the ghoul back, making it halt its attacks for a while.

"Found a weakness yet?" You muttered, trying to avoid it hearing you.

"Yes." He answered.

You glanced at the black haired boy, but still tried to keep an eye on the ghoul. Only God knows when it'd decide to lunge forwards and kill you both.

"Well, what is it?"

"I'll need you to attack right after me. It's got trouble controlling both kagunes at the same time. "

You observed your superior, narrowing your eyes. "You're going to get yourself killed if we do that."

He waved you off, "No worries!"

"Uh, yes worries! I didn't go through all this trouble to see you get killed at age 22! Let me attack first." Your grip on the quinque tightened.

You didn't want to die this young. You really didn't, but if it meant Suzuya lives on... You'll do it without a second thought.

"Can't let you do that, (Y/N)-chan. Make sure you leave a .5 second interval between our attacks, okay?"

"Suzuya I swear if you go through with this plan-"

"What? You'll ground me?" He teased, sticking his tongue out.

"Yes, I will- JUUZOU!" You yelled as he jumped forward. "You reckless kid!"

You had no choice but to follow his lead and watch as he swung Jason in front of the ghoul, only to get impaled by two different kagunes.

"What a stupid strategy." You growled as you successfully stabbed it through the chest, twisting your quinque's blade and taking it out only to force it through the ghoul's skull.

It let go of Juuzou and unceremoniously fell to the ground, twitching.

You watched the scene, panting as you took in how the dead ghoul looked. Shifting your eyes, you caught sight of red liquid and quickly dove onto your knees to take a look at your superior's wounds.

"Shit!" You yelled, hands hovering above his stomach which had two deep wounds. "I specifically told you NOT to do it, yet you still did!" You scolded as you applied pressure to his wounds.

"But it's dead, no?" Suzuya asked as he tried to get up. You pushed him back down.

"Don't. You'll bleed out even more. Just lay down until the medics come-"

"Suzuya!" Hanbee called out as he ran to your and Juuzou's side. "Is he alright? How bad are the wound? The medics are coming, right?"

"From the way he acts I don't think it hit any vital organs?" You doubtfully answered. "But I'm no doctor... Suzuya's pain tolerance is pretty high, so I wouldn't know- Hanbee, no. Don't blame yourself." You warned as you noticed the male cover his face with his hand. "I was supposed to watch out for him." You glanced back at the knocked out duo in the back. "And you did your job wonderfully, so don't worry."

"Hah, you really are a mom." Juuzou teased.

"Wha- say that one more time and I'll let you bleed out!" You said. "I'm just a caring person!"

"Like a mom..." You heard Mizurou mutter.

"Aren't you supposed to be knocked out or dead?!" You yelled as you turned your head to him.

"Mom, that's mean..." He whimpered.

"I hate you all..." You muttered.

"The ghoul extermination rate is at 97% at the moment, but medics can't come inside. Any injured left will have to be carried out." A voice in your earpiece said.

"Well shit." You muttered, before answering. "This is Suzuya Squad's Rank 1 (L/N) (Y/N)! We've got four injured, and there's only Rank 1 Abara Hanbee and I left. We can't carry these four out all alone."

You prayed to any God out there that someone, anyone, would be around. The operator never answered you.

"Worst case scenario, make two trips." Mizurou proposed.

"And leave some of you vulnerable to ghouls? Absolutely not." You huffed, but soon caught the look in Mizurou's eyes. "I-I mean! Two trips is for pussies anyways!"

"Rank 1 (L/N)?" Your head perked up at someone's voice.

"Yes?" You answered, looking at your saviour. "Oh my god, Sasaki!" You smiled at the male with black and white hair.

"I heard Suzuya's squad had some troubles..." He trailed off, glancing at the damage.

"No kidding." Mizurou huffed. "I wouldn't mind a little help out of this wall, if you please..." He said.

"R-right away!" The smol bean said, hurrying over to help out your friend.

"I'll take care of Juuzou, you get Nakarai and Mikage." You stated. Abara hesitantly nodded and left Juuzou in your care, which you greatly appreciated.

"Yay! Mom's gonna take care of me!~" he cheered as you rolled your eyes.

"My offer from earlier still stands, Suzuya. Now, do you think you'd be able to climb on my back without your wounds worsening too much? Because bridal style would probably not be a good idea..." You explained, eyeing said wounds. For someone bleeding out, he was fairly normal. But what else should you expect from Juuzou Suzuya himself?

He nodded and you turned around, crouching to his level. Once your superior was on your back, you wrapped your hands around the back of his knees and slowly got up, trying to avoid sudden movements as much as possible. Juuzou wrapped his arms around your neck and placed his head on your shoulder, cheering.

"You owe me a piggy back ride later, mom!" You heard Mizurou yell as Haise helped him walk out.

You just sighed and followed behind the group as Sasaki looked back at you, "I know the struggle." He said. "You'll become quite fond of it. Trust me."

"Whatever." You sighed.

"(Y/N)-chan?" You felt Juuzou's breath on your neck and attempted to suppress a shiver. Key word: attempted.

"Yes, Suzuya?"

"You don't really hate us, right?"

You glanced at the black haired male. There were no traces of worries on his face, but his eyes told a different story.

"Of course not." You assured him. "I'm really happy to be in your squad."

"Mmh," he answered, burying his face in the crook of your neck. You could feel his blood seeping through the fabric of your clothes, reminding you that he was in fact bleeding to death at the moment.

"You don't feel lightheaded?" You asked. "Dizzy? Nauseous? Anything?"

"Not more than the usual." He answered, making you frown.

"The usual? The hell does that mean?" It's not like he got this much damage in every operation...

"Can't really distinguish it when I'm around you." He answered, apparently breathing in your scent.

You might have caught wind of what he meant, but you didn't count on it. Juuzou Suzuya could be the most confusing being on this planet when he wanted, or if he tried, so this could mean anything, really. It might also have been your wishful thinking.

"...alright, just tell me if we need to hurry." You proposed, looking at how much distance you had between Haise and Hanbee.

"No need, I'm enjoying the ride!"

"Yeah, and I'm definetly enjoying carrying my superior in such an unprofessional way." You sassed.

"If it's making you uncomfortable, think of it this way! You're just carrying your best friend!" He cheerily said, hugging your neck. "Because we're really good friends, right? We've known each other for so long!"

You smiled at the memories. "Yeah, we have."

"According to Marude we act like an old married couple!" He added.

"Did he say that?"

Without answering, Juuzou immediately switched to the next subject.

"Remember when we had to fake being a couple to catch that ghoul in the 13th ward?"

"Hah, yeah. Hanbee was really worried with having you as bait."

"Hm, as long as it's with you, I'm sure I'll live!"

"Is that how you justify that plan earlier? Because that's not very safe." You scolded, noticing that you were close to the CCG trucks and ambulances. You might've been a tad bit sad that you have to let Juuzou go so soon.

"I trust you, (Y/N)!" He explained.

"What's a squad without trust, anyway?" You agreed.

"Yes, that too, but I'd trust you with my life, too!"

...was he trying to make a point..?

"U-uh..." You really didn't know how to answer that. "I really appreciate it, Juuzou, but..." You laughed. "I don't think that's a good move. I'm a klutz, remember?"

You heard what sounded like a groan of annoyance from your mentor.

"Are you alright? Is the pain from the wound finally kicking in?" You quickly asked.

"I'm trying to get a point across, (Y/N)!" Juuzou whined. "How can you not get it?!"

"Well, you're pretty confusing when you try..." You defended. "But if the point was to tell me you trust me, I got it! And I trust you too, Juuzou. I'd most likely die for the sake of your well being."

"Does that mean you love me?" He asked, his grip on your neck tightening up just a bit.

"E-er... Well, I mean..." What was the answer? On one side, you could say yes, but it was really unprofessional, plus he might not return those feelings, but if you said no, you'd be lying to yourself and him, and you might upset him...

"Because I love you, (Y/N)." He whispered.

You felt the middle of your face heat up. "I... I mean, I love you, Juuzou, but love's a pretty wide category and... How'd you know if you love me? I-I'm not doubting you or anything- I mean, it's really unprofessional-"

"Forget about the CCG!" He swung his legs to emphasize his exclamation, almost making you loose balance. "I love you, and you said you love me!"

"But the squad-"

"Will be fine! If anything, you'll just want to protect me even more, no? Isn't this exciting? You'll teach me all about it, right?"

"A-about what?" You asked, as you headed to the nearest, empty ambulance.

"About how to be in a relationship!" He yelled, busting your eardrums and giving the news to about anyone in a ten kilometre radius. Real smooth, Juuzou...

"O-of course, Suzuya-"

"No no! It's just Juuzou now!"

"Of course, Juuzou." You corrected, and settled him on the edge of the ambulance as the medics came to take a look at him.

"Won't you stay? Don't we have a lot of details to go over? I heard when you get in a relationship there's a contract you need to sign, and you can change a few of the rules in it if needed!"

Oh god. Who the hell told him that?! You pales at the mention, making a mental note to beat up who ever told him that.

"U-uh, no, Juuzou. Who told you that?"

"Furuta!"

That fucker was a goner.

"Don't listen to him. There's no contract. And I can't stay, I've gotta go report everything with Hanbee. I'll come by after if we're here afterwards, okay?"

"Okay!" He grinned. "Thanks for the ride, mom!"

You cringed. "Please. Don't call me mom if we're gonna be in a relationship."

"How about maman?"

"No."

"Mommy?"

"Oh my god no that's disgusting!" You yelled, turning to walk away.

"(Y/N)!" Juuzou called. You hummed and turned around in time to see him reaching for your hand and grabbing it, before placing your earphones and phone in it. His grip on your hand lingered before he let go. "I love you."

You smiled. "I love you too, I guess."

"What about mother?"

"Juuzou, no!"