A/N: Inspired by the song "We Will Become Silhouettes" by The Postal Service. Mainly the lyrics mentioned at the beginning. I hadn't written something with Sirius in it for… about a week now? Oh well. Anyways, it certainly doesn't involve nuclear war or anything like the song does, and it sort of took a few different turns along the way, but I'm happy with it.
"I've got a cupboard with cans of food
Filtered water and pictures of you
and I'm not coming out until this is all over."
--The Postal Service
Silhouettes
"I'm starving," Sirius grumbled out, knowing there was no one around to hear. He jutted out his lower lip, looking nothing like the raggedy adult he had grown into.
Okay, he was still raggedy, even though Harry had sent over all those nice clothes and Remus tried every once in a while to convince Sirius to actually wear them.
It wasn't that he didn't like the clothes; he especially loved the ones that Harry had given to him. It was just that he didn't feel the need to put any effort into his looks when he was all alone. Grimmauld Place had always been frightening, and even now that he was older it was still felt intimidating. It was just so—empty.
"Remus, you'd better hurry back with those groceries." The next Order meeting wasn't for a week now, and the last one had sufficiently cleared the house of any and all crumbs of food. Merlin, those Weasleys ate a lot.
Still, it couldn't help to try the cupboards…
Sirius opened one of the creaky doors above the countertops and blinked in surprise. Empty water bottles—the Muggle kind—and cans of creamed corn and baby food lined the dusty shelves. It was a sparse and random array of items, but it left Sirius with a dull ache in his chest.
"Hullo there," he said, reaching in for a slip of paper tucked under a particularly suspicious looking can of chicken noodle soup. "What's this?"
He flipped over the yellowed, stained slip and frowned. James and Lily blinked up at him, smiling at each other. They weren't looking at anything else, just each other.
Sirius almost flung the paper down in surprise, but stopped himself. Instead, he clutched the photograph to his chest and reached for a few cans.
"Sirius, you would not believe all the lines I had to wait in! And the traffic here, Merlin, its awful! You would think I'd be used to it by now, but—"
Remus stopped in his tracks as he entered kitchen. Sirius was sitting at a table with a few candles and two jars of candied plums scattered around him. There was a photograph across from him that had been propped up against a phonebook. Remus blinked in surprise and dropped the grocery bags on the floor.
"Sirius, are you feeling all right? What's this—oh."
Remus put a hand over his mouth as he took in the photograph. He should have known Sirius would find it eventually. Hurriedly, he moved to snatch it off the table, but Sirius caught his wrist.
"Sit down and have some dinner with us, Moony. Prongs was just telling me that he and his Lily-flower had a surprise for us."
Remus had not missed it in the picture either; the large bulge of Lily's stomach from under her patterned dress.
"Sirius—" He started, but he stopped himself. "Of course. I'll go make something for dinner. What would you like?"
"Nothing right now, Remus." Sirius blinked and looked down at his lap, and Remus turned away. He always hated to see people cry.
"I'm not hungry anymore."