Go Shorter - Arjun and Arhaan Story Pt.1 by jaym

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The bell rang just as Arjun switched off the second set of lights.
He exhaled through his nose, "I’m closing up, come back tomorrow."
"Please, just a trim. It won’t take long." A young voice pleaded.
Arjun looked up and saw a guy about his age.
Shoulder-length, thick, slightly wavy from sweat or humidity. Not styled. Not maintained perfectly. Just grown out and left alone, and somehow that made it better.
Long hair always caught his attention. Not in the casual way most people noticed it, but in a sharper, more technical way. He saw a possibility. A chance to feel it. Cut it.
Arjun hesitated for a second. He should’ve said no again. It was getting really late.
Instead: "Alright. Last one."
The cape settled around his shoulders with a soft snap.
Up close, it was even better. The hair was heavier than it looked. When Arjun gathered it at the back, it filled his palm easily.
"What’s your name?" Arjun asked, reaching for the spray bottle.
"Arhaan." He said, looking in the mirror at him.
"Arjun." They maintained eye contact for a bit, until Arhaan broke it.
Arjun sprayed water lightly, watching the strands darken and cling together.
"What would you like to have?"
"Just a trim. Like an inch. Split ends."
Arjun nodded, but his mind was already moving ahead of that answer. An inch wouldn’t do anything. It would look the same. Sit the same. And moreover, it wasn’t fun to cut it.
And people like this—he’d seen it before—they didn’t really know what suited them. They got used to something and stuck with it.
Arjun combed through slowly, testing the fall.
If I take more from the back first, he won’t notice immediately.
Keep the length in front. That’s what they hold onto.
Blend it up slowly. By the time he sees it, it’ll already sit better.
He’d done this before. Not drastically. Not enough to piss someone off. Just enough to push them where they should’ve gone anyway.
"Been growing it out long?" Arjun asked.
"Yeah. Like two years, I think."
"Hmm."
That explained it. Attachment. And familiarity.
Arjun lifted a section at the nape, holding it between his fingers.
"Do you usually tie it or leave it open?" he asked.
"Mostly open. Sometimes tie when it’s annoying."
Annoying.
There it was.
Arjun smiled faintly to himself.
"Yeah, this length does that," he said. "Why haven’t you gone shorter yet, if it’s annoying?."
"I’ve always had long hair. It would be weird."
"It will suit you, you know. You have the face shape for it."
"Really?" Arhaan asked. His interest was piqued.
"Of course," Arjun said. "Right now, this long mane is just hiding your handsome face. Short hair would make it prominent."
Arhaan blushed. "I don’t know… I’ll stick to trim for now."
Arjun didn’t push it.
He combed the hair down at the back and started cutting.
First cut.
More than an inch.
He didn’t pause. Just let the hair fall and moved on, combing through again like nothing had happened.
Arhaan didn’t react.
Good.
"You stay around here?" Arjun asked.
"Yeah, nearby. I live alone."
Arjun glanced at him in the mirror for a second.
"Friends?" Arjun asked, continuing to section the hair.
"Yeah."
"What haircuts do they have?"
"Normal stuff. Short, medium. Nothing like this."
"Hmm."
Arjun worked through the back steadily now, each section coming off slightly shorter than the last. Not enough to look uneven—he blended as he went—but enough to start shifting the shape.
He’ll notice the weight change first, Arjun thought.
Another snip.
Hair slid down, landing softly against the cape.
Arjun’s manhood stirred. If only he could convince him to go shorter….
He shifted to the sides, fingers brushing lightly along Arhaan’s jaw as he adjusted the angle.
"Don’t move," he said quietly.
Arhaan stilled.
Another section. Another cut.
Definitely past two inches now in parts of the back.
Still safe, visually.
Once he was done with the sides and the back. Cutting more than an inch everywhere.
"You had a lot of weight here," Arjun said, lightly lifting the back. "This was pulling everything down."
Arhaan looked at the mirror, trying to see it.
"Feels lighter," he admitted.
"Yeah."
Arjun met his eyes briefly through the mirror.
There was a moment there—small, but noticeable. Not awkward. Just… aware.
Arjun broke it first, looking back at the hair.
"I can take a little more and shape it properly," he said. "Nothing short. Just so it sits better."
Arhaan hesitated..
Arjun didn’t push immediately. He just kept working the front lightly, Barely cutting it. It would be too noticeable.
"Like how much?" Arhaan asked finally.
"Not much," Arjun said. "Same vibe. Just cleaner."
Not a lie. Not fully the truth either.
Arhaan shook his head slightly. "Let’s keep it like this for now."
Arjun paused for a second.
Then nodded. "Okay."
But his fingers didn’t leave the hair right away.
He combed through once more, slower this time, like he was memorizing it or maybe just measuring what he could still get away with before the cut was truly done.
Because two inches was already more than what Arhaan had asked for.
It still wasn’t enough.
Arhaan paid and left. Looking back at Arjun once.
Arjun cleaned up the hair silently. Hoping he would get to see him again.

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Note: I know it’s not much but they will be back soon. With new characters. And newer haircuts. Arjun will get his wish(he’ll have to wait for it tho)

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