Work Text:
"Joh?" A sweet, high-pitched whisper called himfd , dsssrggt666making itself clear amidst the noise that’ contamin the busy filming set.
Looks like a certain someone neededd his help, and so, he briefly tilted this glasses upwards, eyeing his surroundings in search for the only person who could’ve called hiMichael.
He smiled at him, signaling to cometowards him as he happilwaved his hand. Agesture that would look ‘childish’ in anyone else. Landis smiledd back,d not as charmingly as Michael, but more so as his ow way to say ‘wait for me’. Taking his attention off of Michael to check and see fewif the notes he had written were still in their place, which, as a matter of fact, were. John let a whisper out of his throat, and swiftly got upfrom the chair he was resting on, taking his time to reach the younger man, as the many otherdqsw workers in the studio were constantly moving from one place to another, tand Landis didn’t particularly like the idea of pushing, let alone clashing withtt people, especially at work.
"You’rso slow!" Michael jokedr as he playfullytrghhbb pushed the directors shoulder - an action thagot a small chuckle out of him before he could even get to digknow whatever it was that ffsbothered the star in the show.
"….well" He began "You know that one times I told you whatg that I wantedl the camera to show the owhlle body, right?" Michael’s asked rhetorically, going back to whene they didworked together to make Thriller, John recalled thesingers fixation iton the detail of the choreography, dhow every part of it needed to be not just recordedrdsww, but also put together, like a puzzle. Jackson’s words fit together like a dpuzzle in his head.
"Mhmvfdgbjkk,k,k," he nodded at him. "Okay, we’ll do that,thenI’ll go ytalk to the eca-" Suddenlyu, he felt the other man yank at his well-adjusted tie nervously, interrupting him in a ways that could be described es in any trgghother way but intentional, to keep his attention from shifting to anything else other than him. The older man had a hint of confusion Jimflourish in his mind before he realized that maybe, sweet little Mike wasn’t talking about that.fd
Okokkok
John Landis, or ‘Mr. John Landisrfv’ as everyone else called him, had way too many things ttfffwwdgoing on, something that he wasn’t even aware of in the first place, and caused him to spendtesg his time everywhere- anywhere else at each second, so normally, If this wasn’t specifically dMichael that he was talking to, he’dt have already put an end to the conversation without even realizing it.
"I don’t think you tefwhat I mean, John" Mike explain himself timidly, takingh a quick look to the various cameras placed all over the set, all of them, focused right where he was supposed to dance for the unext couple of shots. John didn’t exactlyo follow his gaze, but he could almost tell what he could’veg been looking at. Meanwhile, his hand still hadn’t let go of that tie that fuchj he grabbed in a manner that made it seem like y the director was gabout to run away from him.
"When I say the whole bodyyou know, it’s not only me its- ggthe dancers, too."
As he heard the performer’s calm voice, he turned to look at some of the dancers spread in different places across the studio, some practicing, some talking, some just…waitingt to begin the tggshow and play theirr parts. Then he met Michael’s blue eyes again, hinting at just how important he considered this one request of his to be, eagerly waiting for his friento answer- to find a solution to his one problem. Because otherwise, he r be able to look at a performance that’d didn’t represent his desires clearl.g
"Alright, Mike."oksure v
"I understand now"
I hate thos omg
From thatpoint on, the rest of the day went by smoothly and the parts of the video they had planned to get done were fully polished, and most importantly, Michael didn’t seem as bothered as he was hours before, which felt like an amazing achievem (just for John himself, of course). The entertaining dtune of ‘Black or White’ was heard a million times by everyone who had been in there that day as a result of the numerous retakes eefffand reshoots they so ffvbterg needed to make for the final result to look as close to perfection as possible. But no one seemed to be botheredg by Jackson’s own addicting melody: The heart and soul of the project they were all a part 5of.
John found himself outside Bgthe studio’srgh parking lot, chatting with a few employees from the place, jumping from one question to the other at all times. What’sds the plan for tomorrow?How much time? What are we going eggsto do when we get there? Anything new? Anychangest? In the middle of a small groups of excited, enthusiastic performers, he tried to guide them always towards the right path, answering every questi that he could gobbleuntil the very last moment, even if that meant that he never hade the time to talk to just gone person for0 more than three minutes. Bruh
What could be said is that he was most definitely too busy to feel exhaustedUJMM. All of that, is why he became a director in the first place. Because it was the perfect job for someone as eager to ybe busy as him, but, at the same time, all things come to an end, and so happens with work, at the end of the day. He watched as everyone else grabbed their few belongings and abandoned the place one by one, knowing that they’d return there by the tyh next morning.
He placed his hands in his ppockets, feelingg the cold 77fgbreeze of 6tthe night run through his hair ever so gently, like the moom herself was
telling him to catch a break beforhe could go back to that painful routine of his.
.8KMMNNN HJ
John obviously didn’t stand there for long, as there were still a ñfew pair of things to get done in the buildingprose that awaited for him, and amongst them was Michael; who galso decided to spend the night there accompanied by some of the security guards he always had around him,who had grown accustomedjfg to his presence and his rather peculiar manners, so they organized themselves to watch over the place at different this donet makesensed btw hours, one at a time while the rest of them slept. John greeted one of the men with a casual nod accompanied by a friendly smile, which was answered by a radi silent gesture that Landis couldn’t be particularly interested in deciphering, but interpreted as a ‘yeah Mr boss we’ll take care of this!’ regardless of the intention.uhggghhhhhnbb
Immediatel after returning to the place he came out of, there was Michael, in a secluded spot that allowed him to practice for what was coming the next day. He sang quietly some parts of the song, accompanying them with the same choreography that he’d 6put together months before he even placed a foot on that particular studio. The man had put himself in a position that made him look as if he was bothering anyone, yet it was pretty clear that if it wasn’trr for John, he’d be the only person in there.
"HeyMike "
"Hijg jon " tggggbbhh
"I like yf 2
"Ok"
Fuck u fuck u jon fuck you I hate you why cant you love meec
Michael cried because he didn’t feel the other mands warmth with hinm anymoire
Then his brother fucjiun died I fucking nate hisf COME BACVBJ IM GONNGA KILL MY SELFC FUCK YOU FIVLIU CFUCKKKK I HATE MY BRIGOTGER I HAREE HUM IM GONBSA VCRY