Pretty Boy: The Lost Chapters

Brad's Survival Arc: Part 19

Things were finally looking up again after several months of constant stress.

Following his long awaited return to La Push, a large party was hosted at the Uley house to celebrate Marshall coming home and, as luck would have it, his birthday. It was the first time everyone was able to really unwind with one another without having to worry about anything since the whole pregnancy debacle happened. Strained relationships had officially mended. Personal struggles were talked out, making way for proper healing. And, to make life even better, Marshall was given a special, unexpected present from his husband.

After getting proposed to, Paul appointed himself with a very serious mission. He remembered how, the night of their wedding, popping the question hadn't been a planned ordeal. There had been no prior preparation or carefully thought out arrangements. There hadn't been any keepsakes to give upon their agreement to marry. Because of that, neither he nor Marshall received an engagement ring since, after getting a simple matching set, they went straight to city hall to wed. Now, however, with Marshall having proposed and giving his own gift, Paul felt he should do the same to make up for not being able to in the beginning.

Much like Paul's, the band in its entirety was stunning: white gold was mixed with normal gold as sleek metal had handmade etchings carved into the outer surface, depicting bundles of floral vines; the inside had a single pawprint engraved at the bottom; and a group of six, smaller white diamonds surrounded a singular, blush pink, heart-shaped one.

A beautiful ring for a beautiful man.

Receiving another important memento gave the perfect opportunity for them to announce their newly established union, as well as a desire to begin preparations for a real wedding.

Now, with Marshall and Paul's relationship back on the upswing, Brad felt it was an appropriate time to start opening himself up in terms of his own bond with Leah.

***

"So, I'm thinking when it comes to this section of instrumentals, we could incorporate a few solos before moving into a full composition." Marshall circled a list of instruments under consideration for their new song. "Because it's a slower, more sensual tune, I was thinking along the lines of, like, trumpet, guitar, saxophone- not sure about tenor or alto just yet, and then bringing them all together with some percussion before swinging back into a dual chorus."

Brad rubbed his chin with one hand, while the other rested on the table, his fingers lightly tapping against the surface. "I'm cool with those instruments. I think having them in the order of guitar, trumpet, and saxophone would be really nice. We could try out a flamenco guitar if you want a deeper, grittier sound. Ooh- or we could try a vihuela guitar if you want a brighter sound. And if you want to have a richer sound because this is a Spanglish song, for the percussion, you can't go wrong with castanets and bongos on top of the normal drum set."

"Add castanets and bongos..." Marshall murmured while writing. "For some depth, we can incorporate a double bass part too during the solos which could lead into the big band section." 

"I like the way you think, hermano."

He flipped his hair in an exaggerated fashion. "Lo sé. Soy inteligente cuando quiero serlo."

Shaking his head fondly, Brad couldn't help but glance at the front door when catching a plethora of scents.  There was the signature aroma of wet dog coupled with something creamy, something syrupy, and something with a bolder, more savory fragrance. His heightened hearing also caught wind of approaching footsteps, laughter, and paper bags as they crumpled in peoples' grasps.

His interest piqued when watching a few members of the pack entering the house with an excited pep in their step. They were all wearing sneakers, black sweats, and red, yellow, and blue jerseys with Spain's Coat of Arms embroidered on the left side of the chest. As they walked further inside to get situated, it was noticed how everyone's last names had been printed on their shirts too.