DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters of X/1999.

A/N: Thank you all for reading and liking! This chapter is a continuation from the night at the club as Kamui reaches home...

Revelation

He quietly slipped through the front door, careful to slide it shut as slowly as possible. Feeling exhausted from the night, he could not wait to crash onto his bed as soon as he entered his room. The cacophony of waking birds outside the window was unusually shrilly and he knew that he had spent an excessive amount of time in the club. Everything he had experienced back there left him feeling surreal. Yet at the same time it also left him feeling quite euphoric. All he wanted to do was lie in bed and think about a certain someone who had pulled him into a different dimension. He touched his lips lightly, wishing time could rewind and take him back on the dance floor with him. But as soon as he walked into the hallway and saw his mother sitting by the kitchen counter, the dirt of reality became a sinking pit of quicksand.

"Hey mom," Kamui greeted her from where he had been standing for the last five minutes. Outside, he could see that the sky was erupting a deep indigo.

"Long night?" Toru Shirou asked without looking up as she took small sips of her usual morning coffee. Her long brown hair was undone and it fell over her shoulders in thick wavy tresses. From her side-profile, he saw the pale overtone of her complexion under the glow of the nightlight and knew that she had been robbed off another night's rest. She's gonna blame me, he thought and frustration nipped at him.

"Yeah," Kamui replied with a neutral tone, trying hard not to care. He's already in his mid-twenties. Surely, he's allowed to come and go as and when he pleases without the burden of his mother's loneliness and pain riding on his back all the time. Yes, she's done her part as a mother and took care of him after his father walked out—God knows why she still held onto his family name. He's very grateful for all that she's done to put him even through college—for some immaculate miracle as education was never his forte. But he doesn't need that kind of attention from her anymore—he can do that for himself now—and wished that it his mother would get herself a new real life that doesn't revolve around her son.

"Sit down, Kamui. We need to talk," Toru gestured towards the chair opposite her. Kamui sighed and did as he was told.

"We're drifting, Kamui," Toru began. Her voice was like stale vacant air. Her gray eyes were dull and weary. Her cheekbones were sunken in and the pink on her pursed lips had faded. On the whole, Kamui thought she looked pitiably like a used up doll and wished that she had paid more attention to herself. With her free hand, she traced small circular shapes over her inner wrist with her thumb, a trait she's always displayed whenever she wanted to "talk".

"We used to spend Sunday mornings together. What happened?"

Kamui shrugged. "I grew up."

Toru struck the saucer with her coffee cup as she released it, causing a few droplets of dark brown spots to spill on to the table. She was shocked. How could he say such a thing to her?

"Mom," Kamui began, mastering a collected voice as best he can. The last time they had a "talk", angry words spewed like the seven sins. He wanted to avoid that. "I'm already twenty-five. I'm starting my life now. I've got a job to do, friends to-"

"Friends." Kamui could feel her spit through her words, smearing his pride. "You mean that boy you've been bringing home for many nights." She shook her head as if the thought of what she had said gave her a headache. "You said you're twenty-five. Most twenty-five year old guys I know bring girls back home." She bore him with eyes that were afraid to see truth. "But I've yet to see you bring a girl back. It's always that same boy. Tell me Kamui, are you gay?" She held her breath and waited for his answer.

Kamui stared at her, unable to withhold the shock coming out of his eyes. This was not how he had envision coming out to her. But as far as his mother was concerned, his plans never quite worked out. She was like an ocean and he a mere paper boat just waiting to sink and disappear under the depths of her unpredictable waves. He refused to look down or look away for doing so would only mean that he was ashamed. He simply nodded, his violet eyes never leaving his mother's and watched as the revelation set in.

"Oh," was all she could say, realizing she had no contingency plan in dealing with a son's coming-out. Was she supposed to get mad? Scream? Yell? Tell him how sick it makes her feel? She's not sure. It's 2013. Times have changed. She's heard and read about so many parents that have gay children and they're completely fine with it. She suspected that she's one of those parents.

"Oh?" Kamui's rising tone switched her focus back on to him.

"I'm not sure what else to say," Toru admitted.

"No 'it's okay you're gay I still love you?'

Silence had never been so deafening.

Toru looked back at her son, felt herself sink deep into those purple eyes. Kamui's coming-out had driven away all the fight left in her. She was tired. The morning light was spilling through the kitchen blinds and her coffee had grown cold. She downed the rest of it and cleared her throat. She knew Kamui was waiting for her to say something and she was just letting the minutes tick by. She can't say because she doesn't know if she loves him. She doesn't know if she's okay with it. She doesn't know anything and it was getting really frustrating.

She finally met Kamui's eyes and exhaled, catching a hint of her own stale coffee breath. "Your boyfriend, what's his name?"

"Subaru, and he's not my boyfriend." Kamui replied but then decided that it'd be better if he elaborated because of his mother's confused look. "We tried, you know, dating. But it didn't work out because..." This is so awkward, he thought before continuing, "because we both prefer manlier guys. Anyway, Subaru and I are best friends now."

"Did you meet anyone manlier?" Toru asked and thought how strange it was talking about guys with her son. She had assumed that they would be talking about girls when he's grown up and she would give him pointers on what kind of girls is good to date and what's not good to date and how to make a girl happy and how happy she would be for him that they're finally tying the knot. How was she going to give advice on gay relationships to her gay son? She may not have any experience with it, but she's sure that the rules are very different. And how could she give pointers on what kind of guy is good to date and what's not good to date? She herself had failed quite tragically in that department.

Kamui nodded, "yeah. Last night at the club. There was this guy and he's-"

"Tall, dark and handsome?" Toru finished for him and got a strange look. "Runs in the family I guess. Our tastes in men I mean. Your father was the tall, dark and handsome sort. And so was your grandfather."

It never occurred to Kamui that his version of an ideal type was actually based on old photographs of the man who had fathered him and disappeared when he was barely walking. And as he remembered staring at those photos, he thought the couple in it looked really happy. Why walk away from such happiness? he had wondered before returning the photographs back in the compartment of forgotten treasures. It now struck him that the past had never quite left.

"Anyway, I'd say never trust a guy you meet in a club but that only applies to straight relationships. But you still be careful alright? Gay or not, I don't want to see my son getting hurt." Toru said as she stood up and walked to the kitchen sink, realizing what she just said was equivalent to proclaiming she loves him. "You want breakfast?"

Kamui replied no.

"You feel like heading down to the beach?" Toru asked only to get another no. "I miss our morning walks, Kamui."

"How about next week," Kamui suggested.

Toru nodded before running the tap, indicating that Kamui could leave now. He did and as he walked to his room, he could hear the sound of his mother's voice trailing after him. "Tokiko? Are you free to talk?"

Kamui slid his door close, muffling the rest of her conversation. He let himself fall onto his bed and closed his eyes, thinking it'd only be for a few minutes. He felt his body sink through his bed and through the floor. Soon, he was floating. His eyes were still closed as he felt the wind brush through his hair and whistle past his ears. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was high up in the sky in a bubble-like vessel. He looked down and saw the entire world before his eyes. He's seen pictures of earth before but never before did they look this beautiful. He could hear the oceans crashing its majestic blue waves and the forest swaying in canopies of greens and reds. Earth was alive like him as he watched its roundness expand as it inhaled the universe. Kamui was enthralled, not even thinking about how insane this was going to sound to most people. Suddenly, he heard a voice. It was like the faint musical chime of a bell. When he looked towards the sound, he saw a shower of white soft feathers. Up above, he caught a white light and surrounded by it was an angel. Or so he thought for she had a pair of white wings. She was looking down upon him as her long chestnut blonde hair with streaks of silver and gold spread out in endless waves.

Kamui... he could hear her say. And as she floated closer towards him, he saw more outlines of angels materializing behind her. They all gazed at him with the same sad look in their eyes.

Kamui... he heard again, this time it was the sound of a hundred voices calling his name at the same time. The white light grew brighter and the first angel was now staring straight into his eyes. Her eyes were swimming in honey and gold and after they stared at each other for what felt like forever, her lips parted slightly and he could hear her say, "Kamui... you are..."

His eyes flew wide open. The ceiling above him was white and had patches of dirt in the corners. Exactly like the one in his room. He sat back up, realizing he was indeed in his room and had fallen asleep. As the minutes tick away, so did the fragments of his dream and soon he could not remember a thing except for the feeling of weightlessness.

He looked to his right. A ringing sound was coming from his coat pocket. He reached into it and brought his cellphone to his ear. "Hello?" he rasped. "Kamui speaking."

"Kamui? It's me." Replied the other end.

"Subaru? Oh man, what a night."

"Yeah," was all he got and Kamui knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"My sister called."

"Hokuto? How is she?"

Subaru's breathing on the other end started to sound erratic and he was choking on his words. "She's fine... she just... called to tell me that-oh god!"

Kamui's heart was racing with fear and he could feel Subaru's tears flowing through the line. "What Subaru! What is it?"

"My grandmother... she's... oh Kamui, she died this morning."

Kamui's blood went cold. Subaru was wailing on the other end.

"I'm coming over now," Kamui told him and Subaru said okay before hanging up.

Fifteen minutes later, Kamui was on his bicycle rushing towards his best friend's house.