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Jinyoung wakes up, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. What time is it anyway? He fumbles around the bed for his phone, hand finally landing on the hard plastic casing. 7:30, his lock screen reads.
Jinyoung groans, flipping over to bury his head in the pillow. Today was a day free of any schedules, a rare rest day, and he'd planned on taking it slow - sleeping in, waking up late in the morning. He'd planned a quick workout - maybe a short swim or a quick gym session - and had counted on spending the rest of the day in the dorms, reading, ordering in, starting a new series.
But it looks as if his plans were ruined. He rolls over to his other side, trying to go back to sleep, but the noise of commotion filters through his closed door, and he finds himself unable to lull himself back to sleep. Sighing in frustration, he gets up and fixes the bedsheets, since it seemed unlikely that he'd be falling back asleep any time soon.
He pads out of the room, squinting his eyes at the brightly lit common area, rendered so by the open curtains, letting the morning sunlight in. It's a bit too much for him, coming from his dim, darkened bedroom, and he rubs his eyes, trying to adjust to his new surroundings.
He glances towards the kitchen, where the noise seems to be coming from and does a double-take as all the members are seated around the table - a rare feat for a rest day. He shuffles to the kitchen, more awake than earlier, and makes out what the others are saying.
"That looks so fucking gross!" Ah, Bambam - no one could muster as much disgust in their tone as Bambam could, except maybe Jinyoung himself.
He hears the sound of someone whining - Sseunie, probably - he thinks. Only one person would be whiny at an ungodly hour, and the whining is followed by the sound of someone pretending to gag.
He stops by the doorway to observe the scene in front of him. Most of the members are seated around the table, eating various kinds of breakfasts: Mark and Jaebeom were sharing a large bowl of instant ramen, with Youngjae sneaking a few bites every now and then. Yugyeom was munching on some leftover kimbap from the other night, and Bambam had a sandwich in one hand, his other hand gesturing towards Jackson, who stood by the counter, next to a blender filled with various ingredients.
"I mean, look at that," Bambam complains. "Fruits and vegetables do not go together in a shake, much less with chicken breast!"
Jinyoung leans against the doorway, watching on in amusement.
"Just the sight of all that food together makes me want to throw up," Jaebeom wrinkles his nose in disgust, Mark nodding assent.
Yugyeom has just opened his mouth to second the motion when the whirring of the blender cuts off what he's about to say. The sound is loud and grating, and Jinyoung winces at the noise, the others covering their ears as well. Jinyoung sighs in relief as Jackson presses the stop button, and he realizes that Jackson put the blender on its highest setting just to spite them all, the petty person that he was.
"It's good for you!" Jackson protests, taking off the lid and carefully pouring the juice into a glass. "We don't eat as much fruits and vegetables as we should, and this is a good way to get all those nutrients in your body."
Youngjae scoffs. "Is it worth it though?" he questions, looking at the green liquid in Jackson's glass, expression doubtful.
"It doesn't taste so bad," Jackson grumbles, still not turning to face the rest of the members.
Jinyoung can see the incredulous expression on Bambam's face at the statement, and Jinyoung inwardly winces at the sight of the mixture, painted an unappetizing shade of green, in Jackson's glass.
Jackson turns towards the dining table, glass in hand. "Really! It's not so bad." His gaze flits over to Jinyoung, and Jinyoung watches as his eyes light up, the way Jinyoung’s sure his does as well whenever Jackson enters the room. "Jinyoungie! You're awake!" he exclaims.
The rest of the members turn to him, greeting him good morning, but Jinyoung feels his stomach churn at the look in Jackson's eyes. Please don't please don't please don't Jinyoung repeats in his head, keeping a neutral smile on his face.
"Do you want to try it, Jinyoungie?" Jackson asks him, pouting as he shoots a glance at the other members. "They're all saying it looks gross and they don't want to try it."
Jinyoung blinks once, twice. "Uhh," he mumbles, trying to stall for time.
In truth, he'd really really rather not try Jackson's morning shake. It looked unappetizing, and knowing the ingredients that had gone in there - broccoli and grapes and oranges and apples and lettuce and chicken breast? It was a hard pass.
But Jackson's looking at him with wide, bright eyes, and he's certain of the hurt expression he'd get in return if he refused to try it.
Jinyoung inwardly groans, for the first time, cursing the universe for giving him a boyfriend who pouted easily, and one Jinyoung had trouble saying no to.
He comes up with a believable excuse to get out of it. "I'm going to try doing a fasted workout this morning," he says, trying to school his face into a regretful expression and rearranging in his mind his schedule for the day. "So I won't be eating or drinking anything yet until I've swum."
Jackson nods, and for a moment Jinyoung's relieved that he won't be drinking Jackson's concoction, when suddenly Jackson's eyes light up.
"Oh, it's okay Jinyoungie," he says excitedly. "I can leave it in a glass or bottle for you to drink later."
The rest of the members' heads swivel to look at Jinyoung, anticipating his answer.
Jinyoung knows what he's going to do even before he does it. He glances at the rest of the members - Jaebeom with a knowing smirk on his face, Bambam with a look of horror, everyone else's eyes mixed with pity and mirth - and turns back to Jackson, who's looking up at him with hopeful eyes, waiting for his response.
Jinyoung nods. "Sure."
Jinyoung gets up, stretching from where he'd lain in bed most of the day, finishing the book he'd been reading the past week. After heading over to the apartment pool and gym for a quick workout, he'd trudged back up to their rooms and ordered lunch. All the members, save for Mark and Youngjae, who gazed intensely at the computer screens, were out: Bambam and Jaebeom had gone shopping, Yugyeom had met up with other friends, and Jackson had another schedule to attend to. And so he'd spent the rest of the afternoon in his room, napping and reading and watching an episode of a series that he'd heard of recently.
Jinyoung checks his phone. It's nearing four in the afternoon, and he's craving for a light snack - the bulgogi he'd ordered earlier had been good, but it hadn't been the most filling meal, especially considering how he'd skipped breakfast. He makes his way to the kitchen, about to go for the bag of chips he'd seen the two youngest snacking on the other day, when he's greeted by the sight of Jackson standing in front of the refrigerator.
"Oh, Sseun-ah," he trails off, because in his hand is the bottle that Jackson had prepared earlier and left for Jinyoung to drink later in the day.
Jackson turns to him, a wounded look in his eyes. "You could've just told me if you didn't want to try it."
Jinyoung tries to remember every acting lesson ever given to him, and each piece of advice older, well-renowned actors had given him. "Oh," he says, plastering a grin on his face. "Thanks for bringing it out, I was just going to drink that."
He makes a move to reach for the container, but Jackson shakes his head, moving out of his reach. "Jinyoungie," Jackson says, a somber look on his face. "You don't have to, really. I understand." He takes a second glance at the smoothie in his hands, eyeing the green color rendered even murkier thanks to the colored, translucent container he put it in. "It's not for everyone, and it is kinda gross if you really think about it." Jinyoung watches as Jackson sets the bottle on the counter, opening it. "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to. I just wish you'd told me earlier."
"But I want to," Jinyoung exclaims, stopping Jackson in his movements. Jackson lowers the bottle he'd just brought to his mouth, and stares at Jinyoung incredulously. "Really?"
Jinyoung nods. "Really." Because it was true - he did want to give the smoothie a try. Not because he loved the idea of smoothies and the ingredients put in it, but because he didn't want to hurt Jackson's feelings by not giving it a try.
Jackson stares back at him, unconvinced. Jinyoung takes a step closer to Jackson, placing his hands on Jackson's waist and tugging him closer. "I promise, Sseun-ah," he mumbles, rubbing circles over the fabric of Jackson's top. "I do want to give it a try."
Jackson narrows his eyes, inspecting Jinyoung's gaze, trying to gauge the sincerity of his words. Jinyoung stands his ground, gazing back at Jackson with a fierce look in his eyes.
Jackson blinks once, twice, before gently pressing the container to Jinyoung's chest. "Here."
Jinyoung smiles fondly at Jackson, ruffling his hair with one hand as he takes the bottle in his other hand. Jackson had already opened the container, and Jinyoung peers through the opening, shaking the bottle and watching the contents swirl around. He rests a hand on Jackson's hip, looping his thumb through one of the belt loops, and with a smile, takes a gulp of the drink.
When the liquid makes its way down his throat, he pauses for a second, furrowing his brows. It's...not so bad, he realizes. The chicken breast has been blended smoothly with the rest of the ingredients, and the most prominent taste is that of the fruits, though the vegetables were also noticeable. He takes another huge sip, then downs the drink all in one go, feeling Jackson's gaze on him.
Jackson's bouncing on his heels nervously, and Jinyoung squeezes his hip, causing him to still his movements.
"So?" Jackson tilts his head, a questioning look on his face. "How was it?"
"It's not as bad as I thought," Jinyoung stared through the bottle opening, peering at the remnants of the smoothie. "I’m glad I tried it."
Jinyoung maybe should've chosen his words more carefully because now, Jackson's been setting aside a glass of his morning shake for him each day.
When he shuffles to the kitchen each morning, it's to see Jackson eating his breakfast, two glasses of his morning shake by his side, and he slides one over to Jinyoung as he takes a seat, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Sometimes when Jackson has an earlier schedule, he leaves the smoothie in a container with a paper taped to the side and Jinyoungie <3 scribbled on it in large letters. And on days where Jinyoung's running late for their shared schedules - he'd never really had an easy time waking up in the mornings - when he rushes to the car and sits down, panting, Jackson hands him a jug of his daily drink.
He could tell Jackson to stop, but he hadn't had the heart to do so during the first week, and as the days passed, he found that it had started to grow on him. About several weeks into this new routine is when it hits Jinyoung - he actually likes it. Likes the way he feels a lot healthier, likes the way he feels energetic throughout the day, likes the way it's been helping him bulk up, and mhmm he thinks as Jackson grips his arms, stroking his biceps through the dress shirt that's gotten considerably tighter over the past weeks. This is something he could get used to.
It's not long before he starts scouring the internet for new recipes and juice combinations to try. He scrolls through articles like The Top 5 Vegetable Smoothie Combinations to try! And goes into a deep dive on the endless combinations and replacements one can make,. and which ingredients pair well together. He researches the different kinds of milk that could be used in place of water - whole milk, soya, almond milk, oat milk, rice milk - and takes down notes on their effects on the end product. He learns about chia seeds, the different kinds of nut butter, protein powders, and the names of other vegetables and fruits he hadn't even been aware of.
He has no problem waking up this particular morning. He'd set his alarm for 6 AM - an ungodly hour especially when their schedules for the day didn't start until noon, but he'd wanted to try out this recipe he'd seen online and had wanted to be the one to make smoothies for Jackson for a change. He'd already bought the ingredients several days ago and had prepared the ingredients for this morning.
He pads into the kitchen, turning on the lights, and gets to work. He grabs the frozen bananas from the freezer and places them in the blender, mixing it with some chia seeds, peanut butter, and some vegetables. He brings out the container of protein powder he bought and places a serving of it in the blender - he'd been delighted when he'd found out that the protein powders could be used in place of chicken breast - and drizzles some honey over everything. He then adds some of the whole milk he'd bought, and he blends it on low speed, not wanting to wake the rest of the members up.
He watches the ingredients blend together, creating a thick, creamy mixture that Jinyoung can't help but feel excited about - as much as he'd gotten used to the morning shakes Jackson made, this one was objectively a lot more appetizing to look at. He rummages around the drawers for a spoon and scoops a bit of the smoothie onto it, wanting to give it a try.
Jinyoung lets out a noise of surprise. It tasted a lot better than he expected, and it was something he might actually crave for at times. He tosses the spoon in the sink and grabs two glasses to pour the mixture in. He's just finished filling up the first glass when he hears a shocked "Oh!"
He turns around to see Jackson, rubbing at his eyes sleepily, still dressed in his pajamas. Jinyoung turns his attention back to the smoothie, but not before sending a smile Jackson's way. "Morning, Sseun-ah."
He hears some shuffling behind him, and isn't surprised when he feels arms wrap around him, and the warmth of Jackson's cheek on his back. "Good morning Jinyoungie, you're up early," he mumbles.
Jinyoung carefully places the blender in the sink. "Yeah, I wanted to try my hand at the smoothies." He turns around in Jackson's arms and hands him one of the glasses he's just filled. "Here, try it."
Jinyoung watches as Jackson takes the glass with both hands, bringing it to his lips. Jinyoung feels a smile break out on his face when he sees Jackson's eyes light up after a sip. "Jinyoungie, this is so good!" he gushes, taking another large sip of the drink. "What did you put in here?"
Jinyoung lists the ingredients, ticking them off his fingers. "I've been looking up recipes online," he explains to Jackson, who's currently trying to get at the last drops of the smoothie. "Hey, Sseunie," he pats at Jackson's waist to get his attention, resting his hand there.
"Hmm?" Jackson tilts his head at him.
"Let's try another recipe I found online," he invites, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. "They recommended using frozen berries."
"Okay," Jackson agrees immediately, setting his glass on the counter and wrapping his arms around Jinyoung. "I'd love that," he mumbles, sound muffled as he buries his face in Jinyoung's neck.
Jinyoung's hand travels to the back of Jackson's head on instinct, cradling it. "I'd love that too."
Jinyoung rests an arm around Jackson's shoulder, tugging him closer, narrowly missing the hurrying pedestrian that made her way past them. They’re in New York, and though the buildings and huge crowds of people are reminiscent of Seoul, there’s something about the atmosphere here that makes it different from home. Jinyoung keeps his arm around Jackson, reveling in the relative anonymity they have here, allowing him to touch Jackson in public the way he couldn’t do back home. In fact, the only indicator of their being famous were the three men behind them - two lugging cameras and the other looking out for them both.
Jinyoung ignores all these and pretends that, just for the moment, he’s an ordinary person headed for the grocery with his equally ordinary boyfriend. Jackson's looking around, trying to spot the supermarket. "What were the things we need to buy again?" he asked Jinyoung.
Jinyoung ran through the mental list of items they'd been asked to buy. "Jaebeom-hyung mentioned that we're low on floss and toothpaste," he recalls. 'Mark-hyung needs a razor, and I think that's about it for the toiletries."
Jackson snaps his fingers. "Ah, and face masks!" Jackson grins at him. "My supply of face masks has been running low, since Bambam's been getting from my stash," he huffs.
Jinyoung ruffles Jackson's hair. "Let's get as much face masks as you need." They continue walking, and Jinyoung remembers. "Oh, and of course, they asked us to get some snacks for them."
Jackson nods solemnly. "Of course, we'd never forget that." He hums - probably thinking of what snacks to buy, Jinyoung guesses - and Jackson lists off more stuff to buy. “We also need some grapes, lettuce, apples, oranges, some honey too," he trails off.
Jinyoung furrows his brows in confusion. "Huh? Why would we need those?"
Jackson nudges him in the side as gently as possible. "For our daily morning smoothies of course! We're low on ingredients."
Right. A daily routine’s developed from their morning smoothies - whereas Jackson used to make smoothies for Jinyoung each morning, ever since the morning Jackson had witnessed Jinyoung trying out a new recipe, they’ve started making the shakes together each morning. It’s become another thing of theirs - looking up recipes to try in their spare time, sending links of the recipes to each other, deep-diving into the health benefits of each ingredient - it’s been nice, and Jinyoung looks forward to this part of his day a lot. He wasn't expecting, though, that they'd continue making smoothies in the morning considering how they were on tour, away from home. And whenever they were on tour, they usually just settled for ordering in.
"I didn't know we'd still continue making the smoothies," Jinyoung responded.
"Of course we will," Jackson pouted. "I even bought us both portable blenders I saw online! And I brought them here with me!"
"Portable blenders?" Jinyoung asked, curiosity piqued. "I've never heard of those."
Jackson gasped, pulling them both to the side, the three men on their tails following suit. Jackson took out his phone and started scrolling through his pictures as Jinyoung watched him start to ramble. "Jinyoungie, they're really cool appliances. They're kind of small -" Jackson holds his hands out in a rough estimate of its size "- but they're able to blend stuff well." He finds what he's looking for and lets out a small "A-ha!" sound, which Jinyoung finds utterly endearing. He leans in to look at Jackson's phone, their heads almost touching.
"Here!" Jackson tilts the phone towards Jinyoung, and he gazes at what seems like a sleek, miniature version of the blender with an assortment of fruits inside and a glass next to the appliance. Jinyoung hums his amazement. "Cool."
"I brought one for you and me," Jackson says happily, tucking his phone back into his pocket. "So we can continue to make our smoothies even when we aren't at home!" he finishes, clinging onto Jinyoung's arm.
Jinyoung doesn't shake off Jackson's hands the rest of the way to the supermarket. He smiles fondly at Jackson when he spots the supermarket first and is about to link their hands together, but Jackson pulls away, excited to enter the building.
Jinyoung's sulking does not last long, because as soon as he falls in step beside Jackson once more upon entering the building, he feels Jackson's hand gently grasp at his elbow.
"Where do you want to go first?" Jackson asks, looking up at Jinyoung expectantly.
Jinyoung looks around, thinking. "Maybe we can split up?" he suggests, surveying the area. "I can get the toiletries, then maybe you can get the food so that we get this done faster."
Jackson's face falls, his bottom lip jutting out. "I was hoping we'd go shopping together," he sulks. "But it's fine, I guess you don't like having me around," he turns his nose up in the air, walking away from Jinyoung.
Jinyoung giggles at his boyfriend's antics, and rushes to placate Jackson, gripping his arm and trying his best imitation of a pout. It will never be as natural to him as it is for Jackson, but it serves its purpose as Jackson's eyes soften and he leans into Jinyoung. "Nooo, Sseun-ah I wanted to go shopping with you as well," Jinyoung protests, reasoning out. "I just wanted us to get back to the hotel earlier so we could..." he trails off, winking at Jackson.
He yelps as Jackson's eyes dart around before gently pinching his side. "What if the cameras were rolling, Jinyoung-ah?" he chastised half-heartedly, a gleam in his eyes.
"But they weren't," Jinyoung pointed out, waving to the cameramen as they looked for them both. "Besides," Jinyoung adds as the crew walks closer. "It's true."
Jackson rolls his eyes fondly, gently patting Jinyoung's cheek, before facing the camera, fumbling with his shirt and glasses. "So," Jackson says conversationally as the cameraman gives him a thumbs up signal. "Jinyoungie and I are here at the supermarket," Jinyoung watches as gestures vaguely around them, before heading towards the food section of the building. "I'm going to buy some ingredients for my morning shake," he turns around, beaming at the camera. "I'm also buying for Jinyoungie," Jinyoung sees Jackson's eyes flit over to him, and he feels a warm feeling spread in his chest at the fondness in Jackson's eyes. "He's the only one nice enough to try my morning shake."
Jinyoung smiles, amused, as everyone starts complaining about Jackson's morning shake.
"It sounds really healthy, but it also sounds really nasty at the same time," Bambam mutters from beside him, a look of disgust etched on his face.
Jinyoung stays silent, letting the others' complaints wash over him. Compared to the recipes he and Jackson have been trying out, Jackson's go-to morning smoothie recipe isn't the best, but Jinyoung finds that it's grown on him and, as he's surprised to hear, that he actually likes it more than Jackson himself does.
Jackson is then asked to make the shake, and Jinyoung's silent the entire time, watching him intently, the disgusted noises the members make fading into the background. Jackson has always been attractive, always manages to look good, and today is no exception. He's breathtaking with his sleeves rolled up, grabbing ingredients here and there and tossing them into the blender. Whenever he leans down to grab ahold of an ingredient, the neckline of his dress shirt slopes even further, offering a tantalizing view of his chest, causing heat to pool in Jinyoung's stomach - he knows what (who) he'll be doing when they get back to the hotel.
The arousal flooding through his veins is quickly joined by affection as he watches Jackson dump all of the grapes - Jinyoung's favorite fruit - into the blender. Jinyoung spends the rest of the time in a sort of daze as Jackson blends the entire mixture, veins in his arms showing up, and as he chugs the mixture down, Adam's apple bobbing with each swallow. He's brought out of his thoughts as Jackson makes his way back to his seat, and Mark gently nudges his shin, having seen his glassy gaze.
"Have any of you tried it before?"
A grin spreads across his face as a cacophony of complaints erupts, each of the members with varying degrees of disgust on their faces except for two. The grin morphs into a laugh, which he tries to stifle as everyone's given their own glasses and asked to try it - the way Jaebeom covers his nose as he gets ready to tip the contents into his mouth, the way Mark makes a face after the first sip, the look of disgust on Yugyeom and Youngjae's faces, the former still attempting to put on a brave face, and Bambam's vehement refusal to even let the glass touch his lips.
Jinyoung downs the drink in one motion, even tipping the glass back to get at the remains that have gathered at the bottom.
He looks down at the glass, smacking his lips as groans filled the room. The smoothie isn't so bad, but the several of the many versions he and Jackson have been making in the morning were a lot better.
When the cameras stop rolling, he reaches for Bambam's untouched drink, lamenting about what a waste it is of food. Everyone else groans as he downs Bambam's share, but as he finishes the last remaining drops, he catches Jackson's eye, who's sending him a fond smile, corners of his lips turned up slightly.
Jinyoung smiles back at him, tipping his glass towards him in a salute.