A/N Here is part two! Enjoy. All mistakes are my own.

Out of habit Cookie woke up around eight in the morning finding herself in the bed, trying to figure out how she got there. She couldn't have walked, as her trying to stretch out her muscles proved to be painful. She was sore, everywhere. She smirked remembering the exact cause of the soreness and looked over at him snoring softly as she watched him sleep. It took all of her strength to swing her legs over the side of the bed and get to the bathroom. After a quick shower and brushing her teeth, she slipped on one of his t-shirts and headed in the kitchen to make them breakfast.

Malcolm woke up to the smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes his mouth salivating as soon as his nose got a wiff. He peeled the covers over and put on his boxers and headed out to find the source of the enticing smells, as he moved closer he could hear music.

He smiled from the doorframe watching her at the stove, moving her hips and belting along to Patti LaBelles 'New Attitude'.

"You got a new attitude, I thought you were always like this?" He smiled as she turned around to glare at him.

"Haha. It's not too late to poison you, you know?"

"But I'm too good looking to die." He pouted causing her to snort and turn back around shrugging. She scoffed. "That's debatable."

Malcolm moved to her side tickling her, whispering in her ear. "Really?"

She laughed uncontrollably trying to remove his hands from her waist. "Okay, Okay. Stop it! You gonna make me burn this food boy!"

He stopped tickling her to look at her, Cookie recognized that dark look in his eyes.

"I'm not really hungry for food."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

Before she knew it she was lifted on the counter next to the stove with one hand Malcolm pulled her underwear down the other turned down the stove. In seconds his head was between her legs, causing her to drop the spatula and grip the counter. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, thoroughly enjoying his ministrations if her sighs weren't an indicator enough. Alternating between licks, sucks, and bites Cookie felt like she would come apart at any moment. Once he got her there he moved up her body to kiss her, tasting herself on her tongue making her moan. He reached to the left to open a drawer and pulled out a condom, causing Cookie to laugh.

"You planned this huh?"

"Something like that." He nibbled on her bottom lip putting the condom on, gripping her hips to pull her to the edge of the counter before entering her.

Cookie felt the tears stinging her eyes and it didn't go unnoticed to Malcolm watching her face contort with pain. She was still sore from the other rounds last night her body barely was recuperating now. Malcolm stopped his movements, looking at her face.

"You okay?"

She nodded.

"Cookie. You're lying."

"It's fine, I'm just a little sore that's all."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Now keep moving."

He watched from the island as she plated the food, pouring him a glass of orange juice.

"Bon Appetite." She kissed him on the cheek standing on the side of the island next to him.

"You don't want to sit?"

"No, It's easier if I stand. Trust me."

"Sorry about that." He said between mouthfuls. "This is really good."

"Stop saying that. It's not your fault God graced you with a big dick. Most men would kill to be in this position." Malcolm nearly spit out his food as he watched her smile. "And it's not entirely unwelcome. And thank you." Cookie bit into her bacon, offering him a small wink.

"So now that you're coherent, tell me about the tattoos. How many?" He asked.

"Technically three, even though it looks like two. Neck, tramp stamp, and along my waist."

"Whats your story?"

"The neck one is the newest. 'phoenix rising from the ashes'." She turned around and moved her hair out of the way so he could see it clearly.

"Got it as soon as I left Empire, my first time coming here. I walked into those offices, saw my company. I'll be damned if Lucious was gonna shut me out. So I got this as a reminder of where I come from and where I'm going to go."

Malcolm nodded pointing to her back. "Those?"

"I was 15. It was a time where so many people were out in Philly getting killed for no reason, I thought at any moment my time could be up. My mom wasn't the religious type but there was a church nearby and I'd go in every one in a while if I was curious. They talked a lot about angels looking over you and stuff so I thought if I permanently got wings it's like I'd always have my own personal angel. Sounds stupid, I know."

"No, actually. It's sweet."

"After Hakeem. I read that vines represent life and growth and fertility and all that. And I knew a lot about fertility. Anyway, I wanted something for them, if you look really close their names are in script intertwined. I wanted it extended from the wings to show how I'm always going to be watching over them, or that my own personal angel will be watching over them. Number three."

"Wow."

"I know. A lot right."

"No it's… you're making it real hard to not fall in love with you Cookie."

Love. That wasn't something she expected to hear come from him. He was staring at her waitng for her to respond, to do something. She simply smiled and looked at his chest.

"You have one too."

He looked down. "Yeah, this mess. I got it when I was in college, my girlfriend somehow convinced me getting her name tattooed on me was a good idea. I did it and then we broke up and I had Jericka on my chest, in her handwriting. Needed to cover it up so that's how I got this." He pointed to the lion on his chest.

Cookie laughed as she took his plate from him and went to wash them in the sink.

"Yeah, Lucious tried to get me to get his name tattooed on me." Cookie smiled to herself thinking back to that very conversation.

"Come on Cookie do it."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Aside from the fact that it's tacky? It sounds painful."

"Coming from the girl who has a tramp stamp."

She smacked him in the back of his head. "At least it has meaning. Me getting your name is just your way to brand me as yours. And there's no way you would get my name tattooed on your dick."

He moved to kiss her neck.

"But you are mine. And so is this." He smirked as his hand slipped into her underwear.

"Did you?" Malcolm asked next to her breaking her trance.

"Hell no." They laughed.

Like he said he would he managed to get Cookie to join him on a jog, after much protest. At one point he had to pick her up and carry her the rest of the way. He commited then to make sure they worked out together consistently much to her dismay. He even managed to convince her to make a snowman that led to one of the most intense snowball fights of his life. For a woman who hated to work out she could run her fastest when the prospect of snow getting in her hair was a factor. He told her he planned on messing her hair up later anyway as he tackled her in the snow. She let him.

Now the sun was setting again, they just finished a light meal and Malcolm led her to the hot tub out back. He took the elastic band from her putting her hair up into a high ponytail.

"You suck at this." She said reaching around to redo it, laughing.

"You sound like my younger sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Two. One is older the other is younger. And a younger brother."

"That explains a lot."

"How so?"

"You cook, you're caring, you attempt to do hair. All qualities of the older more responsible sibling. I have a little sister too, Carol."

"That's it."

"The only one I care about yes. There are others." She shrugged sipping on her champagne. He grabbed her legs and put them in his lap.

"Care to share?"

"I didn't know my daddy. Not because he wasn't around or left us or anything but I literally didn't know my daddy because my mama didn't know my daddy."

"Ah."

"Mmhmm. She told me out of all the kids she thinks me and Carol had the same daddy. That's why I say I care about her. The rest of them at least knew who their daddy was. He might not have been shit but at least they knew him."

"What did your mom do?"

"She wasn't a ho or nothing. She was just a fucked up person. She was a nurse for a bit until they fired her after catching her steal meds and shit. That's when I started working you know, to help out. Went to school and had a job, shit was hard. My mom spent most of the time at home, smoking, talking to the other aint shit mothers on the block all not doing shit. God forbid I stay home from school and she got to stay at home doing nothing all day. She had five damn mouths to feed and just sat up there getting money from the government like it was her job."

"So what happened."

"Trell happened."

"Trell?"

"Montrell Williams. The biggest, baddest drug slinger of the 80s baby. Knocked my mama off her damn feet next thing I knew the nigga is living with us. Meaning at least four other niggas were living with us. I never understood how he could be making so much money and we still lived in some shitty townhouse in West Philly."

She downed the last of her drink taking Malcolm's from his hand.

"Anway. I can't lie he was good to her. At least from my perspective he was. When I stopped working at the diner he asked me how I liked making money. I told him I loved it. He offered me a job."

"Doing?"

"I was his runner."

"Wait this guy had you at 15 running the streets for him? What in the world?"

"Crazy right. And my mama let him. He wanted us all to do it. I made him a deal though. I always knew I was gonna get out of Philly. I was the crazy kid that actually cared about going to school, conned my way into getting free music lessons, would sneak my way to New York City to explore Harlem to see if I could get into the Apollo. I knew what Trell was tryna do, I didn't want my brothers and sisters to grow up doing the same shit. Mainly Carol but as much as I hated the others we shouldn't have to resort to the bullshit that got us killed and locked up."

"I see."

"So, I told him I'd be his runner. Only me. And I'd make him a shit ton of money."

"You seemed to be so sure."

"Oh I was. I was pretty and smart." She smirked at him.

"So how long did you work for him?"

"Eh, not that long."

"What happened?"

"Lucious Lyon is what happened. The drug trade was easy you get your own shit, you sell your own shit you don't mess with no one elses shit. Lucious had a thing for not following the rules. Trell sent me over to tell Lucious there would be trouble if he kept marking our territory."

"So then what happened?"

"I got in trouble."

"Fell in love him."

"And worse let him knock me up." Cookie laughed heartily. "Long story short, Trell threatened me, Lucious killed the man cold blood, my mama literally kicked me out saying how it was all my fault and I took Carol with me and married Lucious. Then Andre was born. Never looked back."

"Damn. Cookie how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Walk around like you're okay. "

"I don't know. You learn to have thick skin coming from where I'm from. Then prison is all about letting go. I'm a work in progress and this water isn't hot anymore." She said with a frown, wanting to distract her from her thoughts.

"We can always warm it back up again." He wiggled his eyebrows making her laugh.

"You're always ready to go huh?" She said straddling him and his hands moved to undo the knot of her bikini top.