make your choice //oneshots (harry potter)

my brother's best friend..? (tomarry)

request by @auraschan13
little tomarry oneshot from big brother james's pov <33

There was a sound of a door opening and shutting. Shortly after, there was a rustling of a jacket as it was pulled off. Clattering shoes settled onto the carpeted floor.
It was then that James finally decided to peek into the sitting room.

Upon his investigation, he found that his younger brother had just gotten back to their flat after his day at uni.
They were both sharing a flat after deciding they wanted to have their own space away from their parents...considering the location of their university. It was no surprise that their schedules didn't quite match up. He was older and on a completely different career path after all, but it didn't really bother him too much. It gave him plenty more time to spend with his girlfriend (and love of his life, he'd proclaim dramatically to his best friends), Lily Evans.

It was then his brother let out a sigh and trudged over to walk past where he leaned against the wall.
"Hey." He mumbled as he passed by.
"Welcome back, Harry." He sang, brown eyes full of mirth as he looked over his short sibling.
With his free hand, he rubbed the top of his already messy head, forcing the black tufts of hair into further disarray.
Harry scowled at him and ducked to avoid whatever else would be thrown his way, and James let out a bark of laughter before he resumed his tea drinking.

'Ah, the youth these days', he thought.
"Your mug is on the counter, by the way."
Considering the weather outside, he'd been pretty proud that he'd thought to make a cup for his poor little brother, who was most likely in need of a good warming and quenching of his thirst.
"Thanks." Harry replied, and he gratefully took the warm cup into his hands, his face visibly relaxing as he defrosted his fingers. 

James grinned back at him and raised his mug, eyes drifting from his brother's face to his hoodie.
It was then his gaze seemed to catch something rather....peculiar.

"You seeing anyone, by the way?" He asked nonchalantly, moving to the cupboard in search of a snack.
"No?" Harry responded. James waited a solid minute before he responded and grabbed a pack of biscuits.

"Mmhmmm.... Sounds believable." He set his own mug down as he opened the plastic packaging, the wrapper far too loud as Harry seemed to think over his words. He popped a biscuit into his mouth before turning around, offering one.

Harry shrugged and took the offering, his green eyes avoiding the gaze of his older brother and fixating on the snack instead.
"I've only been out with Tom." He took a quick drink of his tea and turned around, waking back into the sitting room. There was a quiet whoosh of air as Harry plopped onto the sofa.

Instead of prodding any further, he let his question go unanswered, his mind preoccupied.

The classic "I was with my best mate" excuse.

The only images that would come to mind were those of the dark purple marks that marred Harry's neck, and he couldn't help but wonder who would leave such dark, aggressive hickeys on his younger brother.

It was on this very day that he vowed he would get to the bottom of it all.

Harry was conveniently gone for the day, out to do who knows what work or plans he had, and it It was not too soon after that James had ventured out into the world with Lily at his side.
They planned for an extravagant evening of swirling and sipping wine, of consuming the finest cheeses...

Okay, he was lying. Just a little.

The two were headed into town, away from their respective universities and going on a little date to both a local bookstore and coffee shop. He wouldn't have planned to go there since he wasn't big on buying books, but Lily was heavily interested in a new book that had been published. She was heavily interested in medicine, and apparently the book she sought after detailed new medical cases springing up across the world.