A/N: It is me so credits to reyelee on Tumblr and Stargirl29 for the ideas for the nicknames! Check out Stargirtl29's fic "The Fate That Ties Us Together." On ao3. It is really good.

'What if I become her? What if she was right?' Regulus has had these thoughts many times in his life. But they have become much more often since he has left the Black house and moved in with his boyfriend, James. The "what if she was right?" is newer than the first. For as long as he remembered he always feared that he would become like his mother. But the one if she was right has been since he finally (mentally) left her and her teachings in the past.

Regulus waited until he graduated from Hogwarts to leave the household, though during the holidays would stay at Hogwarts with Sirius' friends, which is how he got close to James. At that point he had mentally left the family, but since then he was always worried what if she was right. What if I am wrong? What if I am the one that is following the lies?

"What are you thinking about Raynard?" Sirius asks in a sing-song voice walking into Regulus' office. Regulus hadn't even realized he stopped working on the report for the Ministry. There is a murder cult coming up in the Wizarding world, and they needed numbers from Gringotts. "Nothing Sirius." Regulus quickly replies, getting back to work.

"Come Regulus I know that look on your face. Plus, you had stopped working, you were just looking at the paper like you asking it the questions of the universe and the paper is not telling you and you are convinced that it knows. So what is going on? You and James got into a fight?"

"No, everything has been fine."

"Really?"
Regulus then debated in his head. 'If I say out loud to someone it would sound really dumb and Sirius would just tell there is nothing to worry about that it is not possible. But I think it is possible, I am always known for the impossible. Like living with them for 17 years of my life, getting together with a Gryffindor while under their roof, and being friends with Sirius and the rest. With many more things I have done.'

"It is really nothing Sirius, I am being honest. Now why are you here in Gringotts to begin with?" Regulus says, trying his best to deflect from this situation. "Cause I have the numbers that you guys need for that murder cult transaction thing. Well, here you go." Regulus grabs the papers and hands them to Sirius.

"Regulus. I will not stop asking just because you shove me away-" Sirius was about to lecture Regulus but he was faster and started pushing him out of his office.

"Good to see Sirius have a fun day tracking down Tom- whatever the fuck his name is." Regulus says shoving him out the door, while closing said door he heard Sirius say, "This conversation is not over Regulus!" Regulus then locked the door and leaned against it. 'He won't do anything right? Like how bad can he get? It is not like he would drag other people into it; he is too prideful for that? Or is that what I hope? I don't know anymore. I need to get back to work. One thing at a time.' Regulus then went back to work doing his best to ignore all his thoughts.

Regulus walks into his and James' flat, sighing as doing so. It was an endless day. He loves Arithmancy but even he has his limit; he fucking hates his cousin Narcissa. Why do they need to have so many vaults? It makes things so difficult. As soon Regulus walks into the living room he sees James, Sirius, and Remus (Peter is visiting his mother but Regulus knew that if he was here, he would be in his living room as well).

"What the fuck is going on here?" Regulus asks though he already knew what was going on.

"I brought them here to make it so you can't get away from answering my question. So, when I brought them here turns out they also were having this problem. So what is going on?" Sirius says crossing his arms and crossing his legs. 'He looks like a mother sitting like that.' Regulus almost laughs at the thought that crossed his mind.

"I do not know what y'all are talking about." Regulus says trying to deflect again though deep down he knew it was going to be fruitless.

"Darling, you have been saying that for weeks. Obviously that is not true." James speaks up looking up at Regulus since he is still awkwardly standing in the living room.

"Look guys, I am glad that all of y'all care about me but I don't want to talk about it. I just. . .don't want to right now. Okay? I will when I am ready." Regulus says walking to his and James' room. "Now excuse me, I have had a long day, and I really want to take a bath and go to bed. Night guys." Regulus says closing the door and getting ready for a bath.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Sirius asks.

"I mean there is nothing much we can do. We just have to wait for him to be ready to tell us." Remus says, which is what he had said earlier but he was still roped into it.

"Yeah, I agree with moony. Do y'all want to stay for dinner?" James asks.

"No, we are going to my parents, apparently my sister has someone to show us and I need to do the big brother talk." Remus says getting up with Sirius, who was more hesitant.

"Sirius, he is going to be okay. He is just not used to telling people his problems. We will all be there for him. Okay?" James says to Sirius who nods and they apparate away. James sighs as he stands up and gets started on dinner. 'How can I get this out of Regulus? I want him to come to me but I am getting worried now. I played it down for Sirius since I don't want to deal with that. I have a feeling that Regulus doesn't want to tell Sirius the most.' James thinks to himself as he starts the boiling of water for the soup he is making.

While James was doing that, Regulus was panicking in the bath. Usually he reads in the bath to relax but he can't focus on reading right now. He was just thinking, the thing he hates the most, because thinking means the thoughts you don't want to hear will be heard. 'You are just like your mother. You are pushing yourself away from the people you care about because you don't want to talk about it and then they will leave you and you will have nobody to go back to your mother and then BOOM you are her.'

"Lion's heart! Dinner is ready!" James says through the door. 'Man that was quick. Or have just been in the bath for a long time? I don't know anymore.' Regulus gets out of the bath and gets dressed and walks through the small living room into the dinning room immediately feeling guilty for having James do all this by himself.

"Sorry I made you make dinner by yourself." Regulus apologizes as he sits down and starts eating.

"Don't worry about it. Just take it as a thank you for when you did this for me a week or so ago." James replies sitting down across from Regulus and starts eating too. They ate in silence for what seemed like hours to Regulus. When both of them were finished Regulus took the dishes to the sink where the pot and ladle were already sitting. "I will do the dishes tonight since you cooked all by yourself." Regulus said getting to work. James stood and watched wanting to say something about what had been going on with him. "Regulus, what has been going on? I played it down with Sirius since I didn't want to deal with him but I am getting too concerned doll."

"It is nothing James."

"Really? It is nothing that lately you seem to want to keep busy all the time? It is nothing that you have been having a harder time falling asleep at night?"

Regulus stops washing the dishes and looks at James. His black and gray eyes seemed to look at him with shock but his face didn't say that. It was blank, like back in school when he would try to hide something.

After a while of this staring contest, Regulus spoke up, the battle going on in his head seeming to just stop; he looked back down and went back to cleaning the dishes. "If I tell you. . .don't laugh. Or think of me differently."

"Why would I?"

"I don't know! It is hard for me to even say it and admit it to myself, okay?"

"Okay Regulus."

Regulus takes a deep breath. "I have been worrying for a while now, um," Regulus stops himself.

"Go on." James says in that stupid soft tone,

"That I will become like my mother or that she was right." Regulus says looking down at the sink like it was who Regulus was talking to.

"Regulus," James says, walking over and hugging him. Regulus buries his head into James' shoulder not wanting to look at him. "You won't become her."

"But what if I do? You don't know that?"

"Do you worry about becoming like the Minster?"

"What?"

"Do you worry about becoming like the Minster? And his curtly towards people like Remus and thinking people born to wizards and a muggle parent are abominations?"

"No."

"Then why your mother?"

"I-I don't know."

"Well, it might because that was what you were raised with. But you know better now. That doesn't go away overnight. Like you, learning different things doesn't go away overnight. You won't become her. You are much too kind."

"Okay, but what if I start to?"

"Then I will hex you. Does that make you feel better?"

"Weirdly enough yeah it kinda does."

"And with him being right that is because that was what you were raised with. It is like if I became like your mother and started worrying if my parents are right. It is okay and normal to feel that way when being raised a certain way your whole life and then ignoring and changing it. Sirius has and probably still feels that he has had these exact same fears for as long as I have known him. It will get better. You just need to learn how to cope with it better. It will come up again but it will be easier. I promise."

"You really promise?"
"I really promise."

A/N: Was this me projecting my mommy issues and religious trauma? Yeah. Yeah, it was.