1 and 0nly (SVT one shots)

Home Is Where The Hair Is (JeongCheol)

Landing an investment banking job right out of uni afforded Seungcheol several things he'd never dared imagine before: financial security, some degree of pride, and the chance to cohabit with the love of his life.

Because Jeonghan wasn't doing too shabbily at his global consulting firm either, giving them a decent enough budget to rent a one-bedroom apartment in a nice building in a nice location, close to where they both worked. The apartment wasn't large, but it was cosy. The front door opened on the right of a small open-plan kitchen, with a breakfast bar on the far side, and enough space for a little square dining table in front of that. On the far end was their living room, very standard, sofa and TV, set next to a window that overlooked the harbour. He and Jeonghan both worked gruelling hours, but they'd come home to each other, and they'd cuddle on the sofa and look out at the reflection of the city lights on the water, and for the first time in his life, Seungcheol thought he knew what it felt like to come home.

Everything was perfect.

Except for the hair.

It was everywhere.

Jeonghan had had long hair since the day Seungcheol had met him. That was fine. More than fine. Seungcheol liked it on him, loved it, even.

When it was on his head.

Not when it was all over the bathroom floor. Clogging up the shower drain. Tangled in their dry laundry. Floating in his bowl of Jeonghan's lovingly-botched pork mince soup.

The final straw came one night while he was on his knees, very enthusiastically fellating the love of his life, when he suddenly felt a very unpleasant tickling sensation across his tongue. He stopped. Pulled back. Plucked a long, straight, black hair out of his mouth.

"Sorry," Jeonghan had said, blushing pink.

"That's okay," said Seungcheol, and went back to blowing him.

The next morning, he had a plan.

More to the point, he had 14 Hirsute Hacks to Hinder Hair Loss.

1. Be selective about what shampoo you buy. Many shampoos on the market contain harsh ingredients that strip the scalp of its natural oils. Don't be afraid to try something new!

Seungcheol was on his laptop at the dining table, home from work but still kind of working, when Jeonghan popped his wet head out of the bathroom door.

"Cheol, do you know where the old shampoo's gone?"

"I threw it out," said Seungcheol, looking up. "There's new shampoo in there."

"Yeah, I saw that." His head ducked back into the bathroom, and a, "It looks expensive," came wafting out, before Jeonghan's head came back out again. "You didn't like the way the old one smelled?"

"No!" Seungcheol got up and went over to usher Jeonghan back into the warm shower. Also, to stop his hair dripping all over their hardwood floor. "I mean, I liked it. It was fine. But this is better for your hair. It's sulphate and paraben-free. It's got argan oil in it. It hydrates and softens." What else had the lady in the shop said? "It's good."

Jeonghan stared at the bottle, nonplussed. "I didn't know you cared so much about hair. I'll use it today, but I'll buy a normal one from the supermarket tomorrow. I don't want to use up your expensive stuff."

Seungcheol pulled his most pitiful face. "Hannie, I bought it for both of us to use. If you don't like it, I'll buy another one."

"It just seems like a waste," said Jeonghan, whom Seungcheol had never seen checking the price of anything, ever. Seungcheol was sure that if he asked Jeonghan how much he thought his old shampoo had cost, he'd be off by a factor of at least two - but God forbid Seungcheol ever buy anything nice for him. "The cheap stuff always worked for me."