#invicible

Conquest is a definitely try hard in the sense that he believes a certain amount of gentleness will work while Thragg is more a “I’m going to fuck you relentlessly until it takes and you WILL get pregnant.”

Conquest knows he’s older and it may cause issues with getting you pregnant.

Summary: Y/N surprises Michael as the love interest in the You Rock My World music video.

Note: Y/N and Michael are an established couple for 20+ years.

~~~~~~

2001

The set smelled like stage smoke and expensive cologne.

Crew members rushed between lighting rigs while dancers rehearsed choreography in the background.

Michael stood near the monitors adjusting the cuffs of his suit jacket impatiently.

He loved filmmaking.

He hated waiting.

“Where is she?” he asked for the fourth time in ten minutes.

The assistant director looked confused.

“Who?”

“The lead.”

“Oh.”

The man glanced toward the entrance casually.

“She just arrived.”

Michael turned automatically.

And froze.

Y/N walked onto the set wearing a cream silk dress beneath a long coat, oversized sunglasses hiding half her face while production assistants trailed behind her.

Michael stared.

Completely speechless.

Y/N slowly lowered the sunglasses.

Smirked.

“Well, hello stranger.”

The entire set seemed to pause.

Michael looked personally betrayed.

“You knew?” he demanded, spinning toward the director.

Laughter erupted nearby.

The director held up both hands innocently.

“She made us swear secrecy.”

Michael turned back toward Y/N in disbelief.

“You’re the lead?”

“You seem upset.”

“I am upset.”

“You don’t look upset.”

She was right.

Michael looked delighted.

Absolutely glowing.

And everybody on set noticed immediately.

~~~~~~~

For the rest of the morning, Michael became almost impossible to work with.

Not because he behaved badly.

Because he could not stop smiling.

Everytime Y/N walked near the camera, his attention followed automatically.

Every rehearsal turned flirtatious.

Every line somehow became real.

At one point during blocking, the choreographer stopped mid sentence.

“Michael.”

“Hm?”

“You’re staring again.”

The dancers burst into laughter.

Michael looked deeply offended.

“I am acting.”

Y/N nearly choked trying not to laugh.

“Very professionally” she added.

“Exactly.”

Nobody believed him.

The chemistry became impossible to ignore once filming actually started.

Michael already knew Y/N better than anyone alive.

So every scene carried decades inside it.

Private jokes hidden in smiles.

Familiarity beneath every glance.

Love layered beneath flirtation.

During one take, Michael was supposed to approach Y/N casually across the nightclub set.

Simple.

Controlled.

Instead, the second she looked at him over her shoulder, he smiled instinctively.

Not performance.

Recognition.

The kind that only exists after twenty years loving someone.

The director immediately yelled:

“Cut.”

Michael blinked.

“What?”

“That.”

The director pointed dramatically.

“That look. Do that again.”

Michael frowned in confusion.

“I didn’t do anything.”

The entire crew laughed.

Y/N folded her arms smugly.

“Yes, you did.”

By lunch, the set had fully descended into chaos.

Because everybody realized something.

Michael Jackson global superstar, perfectionist, creative genius became completely distracted around Y/N.

He forgot choreography counts.

Missed camera marks.

Repeated takes because he started laughing mid-scene.

At one point, Chris Tucker walked onto set, watched Michael stare at Y/N for approximately five seconds, and immediately announced.

“Oh, this man is in LOVE love.”

The crew exploded laughing.

Michael covered his face dramatically.

“I hate all of you.”

“No you don’t” Y/N replied.

He peeked at her through his fingers.

“No” he admitted softly.

“I really don’t.”

~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, after most of the crew wrapped for the night, Michael and Y/N remained alone on the nightclub set.

Music still echoed faintly through the speakers.

Dim gold lights illuminated the empty dance floor.

Michael loosened his headscrarf while watching Y/N review playback footage beside the monitor.

“You planned this” he accused gently.

“Maybe.”

“You kept it secret for weeks.”

“I wanted to see your face.”

Without looking up, she smiled.

Michael laughed quietly.

“You’re evil.”

Finally Y/N looked at him.

Softly now.

Not teasing.

“You’ve had a hard few years” she said.

Michael’s smile faded slightly.

Because she was right.

The pressure.

The accusations.

The loneliness.

The constant scrutiny.

It had exhausted him in ways fame never had before.

Y/N stepped closer carefully.

“So I wanted you to have fun again.”

The honesty in her voice hit him hard.

Michael looked down briefly, emotional.

Then back at her.

“You always do that.”

“Do what?”

“Find me again.”

Silence settled warmly between them.

Then the music changed.

“In the Closet” drifted softly through the speakers.

“You’ve been staring at me all day” she murmured.

Michael’s mouth curved slowly.

“You showed up looking like that. What did you expect?”

Y/N laughed quietly, walking toward him in slow measured steps. Her heels clicked softly against the floor until she stood between his knees.

Up close, she could see the fatigue in his eyes.

The last few years had worn him down in ways cameras never captured.

But tonight he looked lighter.

Younger.

Like pieces of the old Michael had returned.

His hands settled instinctively at her waist.

Warm.

Familiar.

Dangerous.

“You distracted me during three takes” he accused softly.

“Only three?”

Michael laughed under his breath, head tipping back slightly.

“You’re enjoying this too much.”

“Maybe.”

Her fingers slid beneath the collar of his shirt, smoothing it back slowly.

Michael’s breathing changed immediately.

After all these years, she still knew exactly what affected him.

His eyes darkened slightly while he watched her.

Not stage performer Michael.

Not superstar Michael.

Just the man who had loved her for over twenty years.

“You know what the crew’s saying?” Y/N asked lightly.

Michael groaned.

“I don’t wanna know.”

“They think you forgot how to function around me.”

“That is slander.”

“You walked into a lighting rig.”

“That happened one time.”

“Twice.”

Michael narrowed his eyes playfully before suddenly pulling her closer between his knees.

Y/N inhaled sharply.

“There,” he murmured smugly. “Now you can’t tease me from far away.”

The intimacy of it made her pulse quicken.

His hands rested low against her back now, fingertips brushing silk fabric while his gaze lingered on her mouth.

Michael had always been careful physically.

Gentle.

Intentional.

Which somehow made moments like this infinitely worse.

“You know” he said softly, “when they told me there was a surprise lead actress…”

A smile flickered across his face.

“I kept thinking nobody’s gonna look right beside me in this video.”

Y/N’s expression softened instantly.

“And then you walked in.”

The way he said it stole her breath.

Like he was still stunned by her after all this time.

Michael brushed a curl away from her shoulder slowly, eyes never leaving hers.

“I almost forgot my lines.”

“You did forget your lines.”

“That’s different.”

She laughed quietly, but the sound faded the second he leaned closer.

The space between them disappeared.

Heat.

Breath.

Memory.

Twenty two years together and he still kissed her like something precious.

Michael’s mouth brushed hers once.

Twice.

Teasing.

Unfair.

“Michael” she whispered.

“Hm?”

“That’s not a real kiss.”

His smile turned wicked.

“No?”

Then he kissed her properly.

Slow enough to feel every second of it.

One hand sliding into her hair while the other tightened at her waist, pulling her impossibly closer against him.

The world outside the soundstage disappeared.

No headlines.

No cameras.

No expectations.

Just the quiet sound he made against her mouth when she kissed him back harder.

By the time they finally separated, Michael looked completely dazed.

His forehead rested against hers while both of them caught their breath.

“You are absolutely impossible to work with” Y/N murmured.

Michael smiled lazily.

“And yet you keep showing up.”

~~~~~~~~~