The Light of the World (Cookie/Lucious, Anika/Malcolm), an Empire fanfic

Chapter Two: A Mellow Merry Christmas...

Summary: Peace on earth? Goodwill to men? Not during an Empire Christmas!

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Malcolm had no intentions of leaving the Lyon property – he lived n the east wing, after all - but he wasn't really sure where to go. Going to see Anika was out, of course. Bella primarily spent the daytime in the Lyon home, but she lived with Anika in the guest house in the evenings. After running five miles, doing yoga for half an hour, showering, shaving and eating some lunch, Malcolm couldn't take it anymore. He had to go and see Anika, even if it was for no other reason than for her to tell him to go to Hell.

On the way to the nursery, Malcolm passed by Lucious's office just as Cookie was coming out, face flushed, hair tousled and hiding a smile. That smile faded when their eyes caught. "Malcolm..." Cookie began, clearly embarrassed.

"How's Lucious?" It was the closest thing Malcolm came to giving an apology. He felt nothing towards Lucious, but there was something about Cookie that Malcolm didn't want to upset or disturb.

"He's fine. I don't even think he's going to fire you. He didn't mention it." Behind closed doors, Lucious had to acquiesce the fact that he had it coming.

"Yeah, and I'm sure that has nothing to do with those pictures of yours." When Cookie's face fell, Malcolm lifted her chin. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I would never do that to you, no matter how much you get on my nerves."

Cookie nodded, grateful for Malcolm's loyalty. "Go see your lady."

"Go tend to your man." It didn't do any good for Malcolm to stay angry with Cookie, nor did it make any sense for Cookie to stay mad at Malcolm. Not now, anyway. Both of them knew that for now, it was best to conserve their rage. 

Hakeem was relaxing in the kitchen when Malcolm walked by. What the – "Hakeem! Did you talk to Anika?" Malcolm asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

How long had Hakeem been sitting there? Why hadn't he called Malcolm or shot him a text? "Well? What did you say to her?"

"I told Anika the truth, man. I said you was a good dude, that you'd never hurt her, how you always have her back, like at the Christmas party, and how she should hear you out."

Ugh, that damned Christmas party. "Did Anika say anything?" Malcolm pressed. "Is she still mad at me?"

"Not really. She just said she wanted to be left alone for a while."

"And how long ago was that?" Malcolm's patience was running out.

"Coupla hours ago."

Malcolm could've knocked his teeth out, but what good would it do to get mad at such a simpleton? At least Anika wasn't too mad at him. Then again, she might have been, since Hakeem had mention that godforsaken Christmas singalong. All Malcolm could do was pray that Anika didn't hold such lousy memories against him.

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"A singalong?!" Lucious asked the first week of December. "What kind of corny shit is that? This is Antonio's doing, isn't it?"

"You know good and hell well that man's name is Angelo," Cookie said, flipping through Lucious's mail as if she lived there. "I can't stand the idea of another big Empire Christmas concert, that's all. Can't we roll it in with the New Year's party and have something a little quieter, more intimate?"

"You just want your man to show his voice off in front of a bunch of people." If Lucious heard about Angelo's musical theater background one more time, he would vomit.

"What if I do?" Cookie smirked. "Angelo on piano, you on guitar. You know Jamal is the director of Angelo's choir. You can't have him working with them and playing piano and performing all in one night, and then expect him to perform on New Year's Eve."