Nnoitra listened to the knocking on his hotel room door.
He knew it had to be Szayel as no one else would be knocking so persistently at this hour. The group has left the house in favor of a hotel as they realized they needed water to drink and heat as the night was rather cold.
Once Ulquiorra decided it were in the best interest to move, Grimjow and Nnoitra were hit by a brilliant idea since they would not have to pay for the rooms anyhow. So, for the past hour, the most of the hotel residents was not subjected to listening to Szayel and Yylfordt yell at one another as they were forced to share the same room in hope some good would come from it. But for the last half hour, Nnoitra only hear Szayel knocking on his door. Making him think of of two things: 1. The plan had actually worked. 2. Yylfordt was dead. 3. Szayel killed his brother and came to bother him instead.
The Second Espada groaned and put a pillow over his head to drown out the sound of the continuous knocking. He didn't want to talk right now or listen to Szayel's stupid, 'I love you, so listen to me' lecture. I… I am not going to listen. Nelliel came back to fight, so I'm gonna give her the fight she wants wether you like it or not, Szayel.
He knocked again.
Nnoitra is being so… stubborn and oh damn, what if he's gone?! Left without me. Left without saying goodbye…just come the door! Please. Please. Open the door and tell me you are okay!
"And are you okay?"
Szayel turned to see a tired Yylfordt trying to make his way down the hallway towards him.
"Well…" The Fourth Espada stepped away from the door and crossed his arms. "No. I am not. But, you can go to bed if you want. You don't have to stay up, you know. Not that I care. You insisted on having a face-damaging pillow fight and now we have no blankets as you tossed them out the window. Thanks."
"I…I am sorry about that Szayel, anyhow, that isn't what matters right now."
"What does? You proving you were right all a long or getting revenge on me for eating Ciricci?"
"No." Yylfordt couldn't believe himself. He was going to actually let himself forget about all that because, in honest, Szayel look too distressed for a big brother to care about anything else."Szayel. I am …I… I am sorry."
Yylfordt smiled faintly as he watched his younger brother's eyes grow wide with shock. Trying ever so hard to contemplate how forgiveness could be given so easily.
"I said it." Yylfordt reassured him, just hoping that Szayel would realize he meant every word. "Things… between us don't have to be hard. I know you're worried right now, so we don't have to talk anything out this moment, I just want that to sit with you for a while."
"Fine. I will."
"Geez. talk about cold." Yylfordt glanced to his right at the hotel door that looked worse for wear. "He isn't answering, is he?"
"No. He isn't." With this, Szayel sighed and turned to leave when a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" Yylfordt demanded to know, pulling his borhter back to his place in front of the door.
"Downstairs." Szayel replied.
"You're just giving up, is that it?!" Yylfordt couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You're just gonna let Nnoitra go fight Nelliel because you can't open a stupid door that you could blast into pieces?!"
"Yylfordt, it doesn't work that-"
"Yes it does work that way, Szayel! I had my bad days, Ciricci had her's and the thing about it, we never just gave up one one another. And so, I insist that you keep knocking or just destroy the door!"
Szayel closed his eyes, not wanting his brother to see the tears in them. "I… I don't want to."
"Why?!"
"Because…I… I am so scared. I… I don't want to open that door and…find him gone. I-" Szayel reached up and wiped the tears off his face. "I don't want that."
I… I guess he has a point. Yylfordt thought, only to know that he was going to do something that no one would like. "But, life doesn't work that way." He let go of Szayel and kicked the door inwards. "You first." The Numeros gestured to the darkness beyond. "And don't give me that look. A little hotel vandalism never hurt anyone."
"It…not.." Szayel cautiously snuck into the room, giving Yylfordt a slight smile, gesturing him to stay where he was. Yylfordt gave a small smile back and nodded.
Szayel nodded back and crept into the darkness. "… Nnoitra? You in-
His heart nearly stopped as he heard a loud sigh. Followed by a, "why don't you just leave me the hell alone?!"
"Because I care." Szayel said, so happy to find that Nnoitra was in fact, still in the hotel. "I… wanted to talk to you."
"And hey…"
The Fourth Espada glanced over to see Yylfordt standing in the doorway. "What?"
"You okay, now?"
Szayel nodded and his brother disappeared in a flash. Once he were gone, Szayel turned back to Nnoitra who was giving him a glare from where he was laying on the bed, dressed and ready to leave. "Hey… honey. I heard from Telsa you wouldn't let him in. And…the dear boy didn't want to go against your orders to stay out."
"Yeah…Why didn't you listen?" Nnoitra asked, just wishing that he would be left alone. "You should respect me, you know."
"I am respecting you." Szayel replied, trying his best not to be upset as he sat down on the bed next to Nnoitra. "While you are hardly doing so. Because, If you had any self respect, you would let Nelliel and not go throw your life away."
"… You don't understand me, do you."
"Yes." Szayel took a deep breath. "I understand you. I know you better than anyone and I…I can't let you fight her."
"Szayel. I've made up my mind already." Nnoitra climbed off the bed and walked over to the mirror to fix the collar of his top. "I'm going and you can't stop me."
"You are not! I forbid it."
The Second Espada rolled his eyes at Szayel's reflection. "You've said that."
"Then, this time," Szayel yelled, marching over to his side. "Why don't you listen to me?!"
"Because, this is my life, I can do what I want. Got it?" Nnoitra said, his voice actually sounding upset for the first time since they started talking. "You have your life and I have-"
"No you don't!" Szayel shot back. "I have half of your life. You said so!"
"When?!" Nnoitra didn't want to hear this speech right now. "We never got married and second off, why are you lecturing me at five in the morning?!"
"Because I care!" Szayel continued his rant. "And yeah, sure we didn't have a big white stupidly religious wedding, but…I…I am your other half and I say, we don't fight Nelliel in some kind of depressed fog, okay?!"
Nnoitra shrugged. He could care less. A fight was a fight. One he were going to win. So why did it matter?
"And damn it! Why aren't you listening to me?!" Szayel cried, following him to the doorway of the hotel room. "Why don't…. Why? Why do you do this?! I love you so much!"
Nnoitra glanced down at his husband who looked like he were about to cry. "Szayel…I love you too. Just…leave me alone."
"Why should I?! Can't you understand what I'm feeling?" Szayel asked, only to realize, "Of course you can't because you are stuck in your own dark world and you…just want to die, don't you?! I am not afraid to live alone without you but I… I don't want to… I don't want to. Please… don't do this."
Nnoitra closed his eyes. "I am sorry. I have to win. It's simple like that."
With this, he walked away and Szayel sank to his knees.