11. REUNITED
Having left Webb and a couple of goons to clean up the mess Damon had created trying to come after Lucious, the journey back to Cookie's apartment was silent. The only sound to be heard beside outside noise was the soothing sound of the late Bill Withers' voice amongst Lucious' occasional grunt as Cookie patched him up. Occasionally, Cookie would catch Lucious staring at her, deeply, with his eyes alone telling a story of their own.
When Cookie went to deal with the nasty gaze on his forehead, Lucious hissed and grabbed her wrist.
She tutted when his soulful gaze sucked her into again. "Why would you do something so...so stupid?" she questioned, eventually. After she'd finished sobbing into Lucious' chest and praising God for him still being alive, as he laid on the kitchen floor, bloody and bruised to hell, she delivered one hell of a slap to his face with a warning never to scare her like that again.
"Justice."
Cookie's eyes squeezed close for a minute as she remembered the sight of Yana dropping to the floor. A beautiful soul murdered by her own damn Father, of all people. Damon had run like a coward the moment he had realised what he had done, and Lucious had sunk to the floor immediately, trying to breathe life back into a bright spirit that had already passed.
"Yana." she murmured, softly. She leaned forward to press her forehead against his. She knew Lucious cared for Yana, deeply. Maybe even loved her from the way he had cried out her name in such agony and pain. But he had never been in love with her.
He nodded, slowly. "And the mess with Conway, and you, Cook- Loretha. I should've taken him out the second I realised he was making moves." He scoffed. "But I thought from all the craziness that has happened to this family because of my impulsive decision making, that I would try to do things differently." He pulled his forehead away from hers. "I was wrong. Again. Because you got shot, our grandchildren's lives were threatened and Yana...she died."
Cookie sighed, heavily. "You are not God, Lucious, no matter what you tell yourself," she told him, firmly. "You can't control life and death or other people's choices." She gripped his chin. "Yana's death is not on you. You didn't pull the trigger. That was on Damon, and now that son of a bitch is going to burn in hell for his sins."
"What about my sins?" he murmured back. "Where am I going for my sins?"
"Last time I checked; we were still breathing. There's time to change and repent for the past, Lucious. I've been tryin' to do that for some time now," Cookie offered him a half-hearted smile. "We are good people, Lucious. Yes, sometimes we've taken the wrong path, but it's never too late to step onto the right one."
He chuckled, softly. "That therapy's really working out for you, huh?"
"You have no idea," she replied, returning the soft smile on his face. "Maybe you should try it out?" she suggested, hopefully.
He grunted. "Yeah. Maybe."
Cookie smiled as she reached for a bandage to cover up the gaze. A 'maybe' was better than a 'no'. She could sweet talk a maybe to a reluctant 'yes'.
"Uh, you, um, got my letter?" he questioned, though his tone told Cookie it was more of a nervous statement.
Rolling her bottom lip into her mouth, she nodded. "Yeah. Philly Street gave it to me."
"I meant every word."
"Lucious-"
"No, listen, Cookie." Lucious interrupted. Cookie pursed her lips but let him continue. "I've made a lot of mistakes with us. More than I have time to list right now, but I love you. I always have, and I always will." Softened by his sweet words, Cookie gently rubbed her thumb across the white bandage. "Before Yana's performance, I told her I wasn't going on the tour with her." He took a deep breath. "And I didn't have to tell her it was because of you. She already knew."
Lucious had made a lot of mistakes with Yana. Mistakes he wished now, more than ever, that he could take back. But she constantly pushed him to be the best possible version of himself and, with honesty in mind, Lucious knew that he was at his greatest with Cookie by his side.
"You're my one." He declared as if though they didn't already know that. "Life is too short to wait, go slow, and take our time." Cookie couldn't protest, because quite frankly, right now she was inclined to agree. "I want- no, I need you back by my side, Loretha. I understand if you don't want me after everything-"
"You're the love of my life." Cookie swiftly interjected. "I thought we could be friends," she laughed to herself. "I was kidding myself. Enemies or lovers, there's no in-between when it comes to us I've realised, and I don't wanna fight with you anymore, Lucious, so it seems like lovers are our only option." Her mouth quirked upward.
He cupped her face in his hands and brought her mouth to his in a slow kiss. Cookie's eyes fluttered to a close, as old feelings rose to the surface. Lucious felt his heart clench as relief and thankfulness swarmed him. As they slowly pulled back, smiles painted their faces as they stared at one another.
"If we didn't have an event-"
"Shut up, old head." Cookie laughed.
When they arrived at Cookie's apartment, Lucious' hand went straight home, resting on the small of her back. Candace gasped when she took in Lucious' disoriented appearance. Her eyes darted straight to Cookie's, in demand of answers but Cookie just shook her head.
"Candace." Lucious greeted, nodding his head with acknowledgment.
"Hello, Lucious." She greeted back in a tone much friendlier than normal. It brought a smile to his face.
"Here you are, Sir." One of the guards said, setting Lucious' suit and shoes on the table.
Lucious nodded his head in thanks as he strode over to pick them up with a slight wince.
"Are you all right?" Candace questioned, her voice holding genuine concern for the man in front of her.
"I will be." He told her, honestly. "I'm about to get undressed..." He drawled out, glancing around the room.
"Candace, will you wait in the car for us?" Cookie called out from the bedroom. "We won't be long."
Candace bowed her head. "Of course," she murmured, before being guided out by a bodyguard.
Lucious sauntered to the bedroom where Cookie was shifting out of her tracksuit. "Need some help getting undressed?" he questioned, suggestively.
Cookie chuckled. "Nice try, Lucious."
"You look beautiful." Lucious complimented once Cookie had dressed herself up. She truly was a masterpiece.
"Thank you," she murmured as she shuffled through her jewellery draw and pulled out her wedding ring.
"You still have it." He proclaimed, somewhat shocked when the glistening diamond ring caught his attention underneath the light.
"I do." she murmured as she thumbed it. "I couldn't get rid of it. Believe me, I thought about it but- I just couldn't bring myself to do it." She pursed her lips "I'm gonna put it back on."
"Let me."
As he took the ring from Cookie, and gently slid it back onto her finger, he thought back to their vows the second time around:
"You are my breath. You are my song. You're the chorus that plays in my head. You're the lights that I see when I close my eyes. You're my everything, Cookie."
"We've been through the fire, and I know our future holds more storms but what I do know is that with you by my side, I can get through anything."
And oh, how true those vows were, and remain to be.
-
Let me tell y'all something, I did NOT expect to be so devastated over Yana's death. The girl was an angel and did not deserve to go out like that. So, Rest In Heaven Yana.
I'm hoping we get our two episodes next year. but the finale was beautiful and did not disappoint me like I thought it would.
