Step by Step
Joe Mazzello & John Deacon (platonic)
Author note : Hi my beauties. This writing is my second entry for Deazzello Week, still hosted by the lovely Mel aka @roger-taylors-car !! So, here we are, for day two fitting the prompt 'Dancing’. I hope you enjoy. Thanks in advance for the feedback and sorry for the mistakes, English is not my first language.
Summary : Some dance moves to be learnt.... for someone special ?
Word Count: 2,370 Words
Warnings: this should be fine for everyone in this audience. ^^
Permanent taglist : @anotheronebitesthedick, @reavenedges-lies, @thosequeenboys
Bohemian Rhapsody. Joe still could not believe he had been picked to play the bass player of the legendary band Queen in the movie about lead singer Freddie Mercury. He was laying in bed, looking at the ceiling, in the studio he had been given during the filming. It was a beautiful day of January. The weather was cold outside, but he did not mind. There he was, and it felt great.
He had already met guitarist (and astrophysicist) Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor on the set. He had been an incredible moment. The two musicians were now obviously older but it seemed in their moves they were still in the 70′s, performing a gig in front of young groupies, ready to throw their bras at them.
He had had a very long talk with the two of them. Brian was very talkative and had explained Joe would not meet John Deacon. He had explained the bassist was now retired, and that even if he had given his agreement for the filming of the movie, it was clear he would not come on the set. Nor to assist Joe to learn bass guitar, nor to see if everything was doing well, nor to share his past memories. Joe had been really disappointed, but he had understood the bassist’s decision. It was his life, his choices.
The production had planned to shoot the reproduction of Queen’s Live Aid straight away. Rami Malek, portraying Freddie Mercury himself, had hired Polly Bennett, a choreographer to train him. Joe had known Rami for several years now, since they had been together in the series ‘The Pacific’, and it had not surprised him at all. Rami was very professional and even if there already was a choreographer on the set, in the person of Liam Lunniss.
On his side, Joe had seen hours and hours of concerts and other performances from Queen to train his moves. He also had watched hours and hours of interviews, because Joe was American, while John was British. And the bassist had a very specific accent. Even if Joe did not have many lines, from what he had seen in the script, he wanted to be as accurate as possible. He was quite at ease now. Joe was ready, and he could not wait to be on the fake Live Aid stage.
That morning, everyone was rehearsing on the set, but Liam had the feeling everyone was still quite tense. Even if there was no reason to be. The atmosphere on the filming set was already were friendly. Brian would be filming around, making sure to share on social medias for the fans, but not too much to keep the production’s secrets.
Ben Hardy, portraying the drummer, was busy behind his instrument, making sure everything was placed properly. Polly was talking with Rami, they were moving together, as if the camera was already recording. Gwilym Lee, himself again without the curly wig making him become the guitarist, and Joe were both trying to keep themselves warm. Liam came closer to them and started to whisper to their ears, making them loudly laugh. A few moments later, the three of them were moving together, as the sound of the music from Nicky Minaj, Boss Ass Bitch. Everyone bursted out in laughter and hopefully, Brian had recorded it and had shared the video for his close friend, on a safe network. The day then carried on, everyone being back to being very professional, rehearsing again and again to make sure their performance would be the best possible.
A few days later, the filming of Queen’s Live Aid’s performance from 1985 was complete. It had been a very hard work, but the production seemed to be really happy with it. Joe was then enjoying a little time on his own, since Rami was particularly demanded on the set. But Joe understood it perfectly. The movie was not about John Deacon, but about lead singer Freddie Mercury. He really loved to spend some time with his partners, more particularly with Ben, his buddy as he liked to call him, but sometimes, a moment alone to clear his mind, to meditate a little seemed necessary as well.
He was alone in his studio then, watching some random Youtube videos while trying to figure his hair out. Why on earth had he agreed to have a real perm, only God knew. This was something the whole cast was about to make fun of, and for a long time. Well, better see everyone laugh than cry. Someone knocked on his door so he paused the video.
He opened the door and frowned. He thought it would be someone from the cast or someone from the production, but he did not recognize the man wearing a hat standing before him.
“Hi, may I help you?”, he gently asked, trying to catch the man’s glaze beneath his hat.
“Are you Joe Mazzello?”, the man questioned back.
“Joe Mazzello, the kid from Jurassic Park and very soon the bassist from Queen, I hope.”, Joe joked.
“There has been and there will always be one man to be bass player for Queen. And this man is me.”, the man replied, this time looking at Joe in the eyes.
The actor remained at the door, speechless. He now considered Brian and Roger to be his friend. On this set, he had lost any hope of meeting the man he was portraying, thus his surprise at this very moment. John Deacon was standing before him, and he almost had to pinch himself to believe it. Yet, Joe tried to clear his thoughts and did not want to be rude towards the man, for whom he had now such a great respect.
“Please, come in”, he said as he stepped aside to let him in. John nodded to thank him and headed towards the couch.
“Make yourself at home.”, Joe carried on, trying to sound casual. “Do you want some tea?”, he proposed.
“Yes, please.”, John replied as he sat on the sofa.
Joe had never been so quick to prepare tea. The boiler heated the water at the speed of light and he hurriedly came back with two warm cups on a tray.
“So.... Mister Deacon. Whaw. This is a great honor. Both to meet you and to be able to portray your very person in the movie.”, Joe awkwardly said. He would not admit it, but he was somehow intimidated. “I’ve seen many many gigs from Queen and many of your interviews, but having you here is going to ....”
“Sorry, son. This is not why I came here.”, John interrupted him. “I may be retired from Queen, I may be older now, but I’m no fool. If Bri and Rog agreed to have you for the movie, I totally trust them. I’ve seen a few scenes so far and I’m quite happy about it. The film will not be the exact truth, but maybe this is for the best. It’s a movie after all.”
“Oh.... I see....”, Joe replied, quite puzzled. If the bassist had not come to help him on the set, why was he here?
“You seem a little confused about my presence here, so I’m going to be straight. Even if I don’t want to have any implication of any kind regarding the movie, Bri and Rog, well mostly Bri since he is such a geek for social networks, keeps me informed and sends me tons of content, almost daily. A few days ago, I’ve been surprised to receive a video from you and your pals, dancing on stage.”, he said as he took his cup of tea to drink a little.
“Oh, Mister Deacon, this was just us having fun really....”, Joe tried to explain himself.
“Son, Deaky will be fine for you as well. And I’m not here to tell you how to do your job. I came because I was quite impressed by your moves in fact.”
“Really?”, Joe raised his eyebrows.
“Absolutely. And you’ve learnt it in like five minutes?”, he asked.
“Something like that yeah.”
“Good. I’ve looked your bio on the Internet. I’ve seen you’ve played in a series called the Pacific, right?”, the musician carried on.
“Correct, with Rami.”, Joe sipped his tea as well. What was it all about?
“I’ve know you’ve watched a bunch of Queen’s videos for this role. I’m sure you’ve done the same as for becoming Eugene Sledge, haven’t you?”
“I have yes. I’ve seen footage from soldiers during war, during their leaves, after war as well. I’ve read a lot as well.”
“I thought you would be that kind of actor.”, John nodded.
“I’m really sorry, Mister Deacon, and I....”
“Deaky.”, John interrupted him.
“Okay, sorry Deaky, but what is this all about? I mean you’re not here to have an autograph, are you?”, Joe said, making the bassist laugh.
“Ah, no, this is not my purpose. Okay, then. I’m going to be clear. I need lessons.”
“Lessons?”, the actor repeated, blinking a little.
“Yeah, lessons. See, my wife is such a big fan of Jazz and of course she loves to dance on it. But I’ve never learnt to dance properly, while she has. I need you to teach me how to dance on Glenn Miller.”, the man said, very casually.
For a moment, Joe looked at him, still blinking. He certainly had heard him wrong.
“What? I’m no dancer. And no Jazz expert. And why me, by the way?”, he eventually were able to ask.
“I’m sure you’ve learnt to dance for the series. You were certainly expecting some dance scene with some chick during one of the soldier’s leave.”, John raised an eyebrow, smiling at him.
Yes, it was true, but how on earth did he know that?
“I have, but still. Why me? There are plenty of teachers in England I’m sure. They would be perfectly capable to teach you.”
“I know that. The thing is my son Luke is wandering on the sets. And it gives me an excuse to get out of the house. I want it to be a surprise for Ronnie, my wife.”, he added. “And I still want my privacy to be respected. If some random teacher finds out who I really am, the whole thing is going to blow up again, and this isn’t what I want.”, he shrugged.
Joe looked at him in silence. Of course, he could understand. As an actor and as he had known fame since a very young age, he had quickly been aware privacy was something that needed to be protected at all cost. The life during the shootings, during the interview, or for Deaky, during the gigs, was totally different from the life they could be longing for at home. Joe sighed, still not knowing what to answer.
“And you’ve signed a contrat. You’re not allowed to reveal some information.”, John added, shrugging his shoulder, as if it was going to convince Joe. The latter grimaced a little but eventually nodded.
“Okay. Okay Deaky, we can do this. And then I will be able look at myself in the mirror and say I did it for love.”, he joked.
“Oh, believe me, son, this is going to be the hard life for you, with me under your feet. Literally.”, John played his game, making the actor laugh.
Yet, John could not have been more wrong. They made plans to discretly meet at Joe’s to train. The actor had feared the older man would need time to for his muscles to be back in movements, but in fact, the bassist, despite this very bad habit of smoking, was still in a very good shape. And he was learning very quickly. Of course, he had to take more breaks when they were dancing, but still. Joe was highly impressed. But after all, he was not nicknamed the ‘Dancing Queen’ for nothing.
The last notes of ‘In the mood’, by Glenn Miller played and John gave a little bow, widely smiling. The young man also had a smile on his lips.
“I think you’re ready.”, Joe handed him a glass of water.
“Right on time. Perfect for both her birthday and Valentine’s day.”, Deaky announced. “I hope she is going to be surprised. In a good way I mean. Life’s not been the most easy for Ronnie either....”, John vaguely said.
“John, seriously. I would marry you right now if you’d propose. You’re a great husband. A great father. A great musician. And an amazing dancer.”, Joe tried to appease the atmosphere.
“Thank you, son.”, John said, coming closer to him. They both hugged, Joe tapping in his back slightly.
“My pleasure, Deaky. Really.”, he said.
John nodded, not knowing what to add. He thanked the actor again for his patience and his dance lesson, and left, putting his hat on his head.
The life on the set of the filming of Bohemian Rhapsody was back to normal after this little event. Joe was back in front of the camera, still enjoying every bit of it.
To make sure no one would be alone on Valentine’s day, the production had organized a special night, with snacks and music, making sure everyone would spend a nice time, even if they were on their own.
Rami and Lucy were dancing together and Gwil was with Dana on the dance floor as well. Allen had stayed home with his wife, but both Brian and Roger were there as well with their partners. Joe and Ben were dancing together, making everyone laugh.
At some point, Brian asked Joe if they could have a moment alone. He then showed him his phone and Joe pressed the play button on the touch screen of the guitarist’s phone. The video he was looking at made him smile at once.
Both John and Veronica were dancing to Glenn Miller, Deaky very expertly moving on the music, his wife widely smiling, beaming. Joe thought she was not the only one to receive a gift from John that day. Later in the evening, Joe received a message as well, merely saying :
“Thanks, Joe. Love is still in the air.”
