Chapter 1
His mother was standing in front of him reprimanding him for something or other, but he wasn't really there, he was thinking about Sirius. How he wished he had gone with him that night, how he wished he could have just been brave for once and left this wretched home; if you could even call it a home. He was also thinking about James, oh James, his sweet James. Who would hold him on nights where all he could do was cry and long for Sirius, although that bridge had been burned the second he said, "I'm sorry, but I cant go with you."
He was swiftly brought back to reality with a sharp sting on his cheek, blood trickling down the cut from his mothers ring and from his nose.
"Are you listening to me you worthless child?"
"Yes mother" he replied.
Sadly tonight was not one of those were Regulus was lucky, his mother slapped him again.
"Do not lie to me I know you were not."
He doesn't really know what caused what happened next but, Regulus spits in his mothers face and says calmly with a face of steel "Fuck you."
"You insolent child I don't know why I didn't drown you the second I realized I had a girl."
Maybe that was the breaking point; he didn't really know that either. He just got his wand out, summoned his school trunk, and left the house without a word. His mother screaming at him to come back the entire time. He broke out into a run trying to remember the Potters address from when James told him he was always welcome there, but he couldn't he just couldn't remember. He sat down on the sidewalk trying to think of what to do next, when the night bus came to an abrupt halt in front of him. He stood up frantically.
"Where are you goin' laddie?" An older man asked.
"Potter manor, do you know where that is?" Regulus asked.
"I do indeed." The attendant responded.
He gave the attendant a few galleons and sat down. When he finally got there he scrambled out, he ran to the front door knocking frantically, trying to maintain composure. When James opened the door he broke completely. He collapsed into his boyfriends arms and started crying. James put his arms around him and cupped the back of his head, kissing his crown whispering "You're alright its going to be alright."
He heard his brother yell out "Hey who was at the door?"
"Padfoot just give me a second yeah?" James yelled back.
"Baby, are you ready to see him yet?" James asked Regulus cupping his face.
"But he hates me."
"I swear to you he doesn't"
"alright" Regulus responded nodding.
"Alright'" James said back, wiping a tear away from Regulus' face, oh how beautiful that boy was to him.
Regulus walked into the Potter house looking a but worse for wear but alive. As soon as Sirius saw him he stood up and immediately hugged him.
"Oh brother, what did she do?" He asked in a sad voice.
"She said she wished she drowned me" Regulus responded, returning the hug and tucking his head in his brothers neck.
Sirius pulled back, put on his older brother smile, and said "Lets get you upstairs yeah? Effie and Monty are at a dinner party so you'll have to meet them tomorrow. James grab him a pair of my pajamas."
After a shower and a change of clothes Regulus truly felt so much safer, but instead of crawling into the bed that Sirius deemed his he knocked softly on James's door. James opened it quickly and held out a hand that Regulus took. He followed James to his bed.
"Could I show you something?" Regulus asked softly, sitting up
"Of course love." James responded sitting up as well.
Regulus rolled up his sleeves and showed James the scars that littered his arms some older, some not even a week old. Regulus looked away ashamed and didn't expect to feel James' lips pressed to his skin, but of course that's what he did.
"What would you like to do?"
"I want to get clean"
"Alright we'll get help"
They fell asleep entwined in each others arms, and if Sirius screamed a little when he barged into James's room in the morning well that's between him and the Potter household.