SIM:Pholin Duyzer & Nelis Duyzer - Loss

((OOC: This is a continuation of the "Change" storyline, and therefore not a sim to make you happy, so to speak. Hope you 'enjoy'.)) ((Pholin's Quarters - Deck 9, USS Columbia)) ((Time-index: Upon Columbia's arrival at Dehner Base.)) :: Nelis walked through the doors, hoping to find Pholin in his quarters. The lights were off, and the living room seemed empty. He put his toolkit down in the corner and moved towards the bedroom. Taking a peek around the corner, he discovered Pholin wasn't back from duty yet. Disappointed, he sat down on the bed. He let out a sigh while he looked out of the window. The Columbia was in orbit of Delta Vega I and the view from Pholin's quarters was phenomenal. :: :: Sitting down, he felt that he had pains in his back, and thus quickly laid down. His bed was softer than the matrasses they had on his previous assignment, where he slept with five people in one room. Officially, Nelis had quarters on the lower decks of the Columbia, but he hadn't ever stepped foot there. He reminded himself that he still had to report that, so a room wouldn't be wasted. Looking around, he saw a PADD laying next to him. He picked it up and turned it on to see what Pholin was working on. On the screen was a notification saying he had missed thirteen calls. :: :: He was about to open them as he heard the doors swoosh open. Pholin walked into his quarters after a bridge duty of almost twenty-one hours. He was exhausted and wanted nothing but sleep. Pholin ordered the computer to turn on the lights and walked towards his bedroom. He didn't know what hit him as he suddenly felt two hands strapped around him tightly. He was about to call for security as he realized who was holding him. :: Nelis D.: I've been waiting to do this for a full day. ::whispering in his ear:: Duyzer: Oh, me too. ::smiling warmly as he approached Nelis:: :: Pholin snuggled up closer to Nelis having also missed him. Leaning on Nelis, he could've almost fallen asleep if it wasn't for the overwhelming sense of happiness coming from his husband. As they were hugging, Pholin noticed the PADD on his bed. :: Duyzer: What were you reading? ::pointing to the PADD:: Nelis D.: What? ::he released himself from the snuggle and turned around to see what he was pointing at:: Oh that. That's your PADD, sweetheart. :: Pholin moved closer to the bed and sat down, sitting down he immediately felt the urge to lie down and sleep but he wasn't going to sleep when he could be with Nelis. He grabbed the PADD, which was apparently his. :: Nelis D.: You have thirteen missed calls, might want to check up on that. ::grinning:: A secret lover? :: Pholin saw the notification too and loaded up more information about the missed calls. They had come from Denobula. More specifically, the headquarters for the Denobulan National Waters Organisation. His face turned red as he realized that he had been missing the updates for a full day now. He looked in terror at Nelis as he panicked. :: Duyzer: Uhm... ::beat:: No, it's nothing. ::he quickly tried to put away the PADD:: :: Nelis was surprised at the sudden secrecy of his favorite Denobulan, and jokingly jumped on the bed grabbing the PADD. Nelis would have tickled Pholin to death, enjoying teasing him, if it wasn't so visibly clear that the man needed some serious hours of sleep. He opened the PADD and pressed on a message to play it back. :: Duyzer: ::whispering:: No... :: Pholin began silently tearing up as the message began playing. :: Kala: This is Kala from the DNWO, calling for mister Pholin. We have an update about the... ::there was a short but noticeable pause:: situation with the Pak'cha... Nelis D.: ::talking over the woman as the message continued playing back:: The Pak'cha is your family's ship right? :: Pholin silently nodded as he didn't know what to do. Both of his parents served on the submarine, his father as the captain and his mother a biologist. His brother was the most recent addition to the crew, serving as one of the pilots. Nelis noticed that Pholin was distressed, and continued listening with some worry. He wasn't expecting good news to come out of her mouth. :: Kala: ...-tunately, we have recovered the submarine. ::Pholin started full-on crying as she continued:: We have found one lifepod with captain Bem, your father, on it. He is injured but will recover. ::beat:: I am saddened, however, to report that your father was the only one found alive... :: The message continued, but they both stopped listening as they were both devastated. Nelis was filled with confusion, going from knowing nothing about any situation to knowing his husband's mother and brother were found dead. Pholin was not thinking and only crying in the arms of his husband. Nelis was not a person to cry soon, but he couldn't hold it in hearing his step-family, who had been the more kind to him than he could have ever wished, was no longer. :: :: They both didn't move for ages, as they didn't know what to say to each other. They had been really close to each other during their ten-year marriage but had never had such a loss during all that time. Pholin now felt like he had been stabbed in his heart, as leaving his family had been one of the hardest parts of joining Starfleet. They said nothing would happen. They said they would be fine. They told him to have fun along the way. And now, he was thousands of light-years away from his family, while they died in a horrible accident. It hurt. :: :: Nelis couldn't help but think how differently his reunification with Pholin had gone to how he had imagined it. He had announced it as an anniversary gift but was now tearing up with Pholin for the second time since seeing him again. Pholin was still lying on his lap, as Nelis began hearing soft snores coming from him. He slowly moved him underneath the bedsheets and lay beside him hoping to wake up the next day hearing they were all alive and well. :: ((Time-skip: Six hours later.)) :: Nelis began to return to consciousness, as he realized he was no longer sleeping next to Pholin. Living with a Denobulan, it was something he had gotten used to. He slowly began to wake up as the light of the Delta Vega star blinded his eyes. He heard a Bajoran lullaby playing in the living room, and smelled the strong scent of Loatac Cider. :: :: Pholin was in the bathroom, staring at himself and more specifically his tongue. He had been standing, looking into the mirror, for almost thirty minutes. Liking himself fully cleaned, scraping his tongue was usually the first thing he did in the morning. Finishing up his tongue-work, he kept staring into the mirror. He saw a beard developing and grabbed his shaver, just before he laid it down on his hair, he stopped. He realized liked the look of a beard. Grinning while enjoying his facial hair, he heard Nelis wake up. He walked to the living room. :: Duyzer: Computer. Coffee, black. ::he smiled as he grabbed the coffee and approached Nelis:: Good morning, lovely. ::handing him the cup of coffee.:: :: Pholin moved to the sofa, as he grabbed his large cup of cider, almost empty. He sat down as he began reading through the beta-shift sensor logs of the day before, which he still hadn't fully read. Nelis was stunned as he put his coffee away. He crossed his arms and cleared his throat. :: Nelis D.: Pholin, are you just going to pretend like nothing happened? ::in a worrying tone:: :: Pholin chose to ignore him and just kept reading, he moved on to gamma shift but realized he had been live-monitoring the sensors then. Nelis kept standing in awe of Pholin's behavior. He realized that, although he had known the man for almost twelve years, he had never seen this. He sat down beside him, having no clue what to do. :: Nelis D.: We're definitely going to get you a counselor... ::speaking silently:: -- Lt. JG Pholin Duyzer Science Officer USS Columbia C239509P10 and Petty Off. 2nd Nelis Duyzer Repair Technician USS Columbia C239509P10 (PNPC)