One Shots

Dhruv x Nandini AU || Coffee Cup

Nandini closed the file with conviction. She made up her mind to go home early that day. It was her brother's birthday after all. As she gathered her things, her eyes fell on the room on her farthest left. The lights were still on and the sound of typing was coming from there. It was only her and him in the office. Part of her wanted to go check on him. Dhruv has always been a hard worker and there he was again, working overtime to get a raise. The man was going through some difficulties and it was quite obvious with his sad mood and exhausted demeanor. Poor guy! As far as Nandini knew, he was a sweet guy who was also kind and helpful. She knew she would be late if she spent another minute there. She still couldn't help her instincts that carried her straight to his office. She knocked softly, trying not to startle him. Opening the door ever so slightly, she tried to peek inside to see if he was ok. She saw him sitting on his desk, his tie loosened up, his hair disheveled, and his eyes tired.  

Dhruv looked up from his computer to see a head peeking in from the door. He sighed and closed his eyes. 

"Come in Nandini."

She entered slowly, nervous. He motioned her to sit across him in one of the chairs. Nandini walked softly to the chair and sat down. There was silence. Dhruv sat back on his chair, his eyes still closed. He was breathing heavily, due to his exhaustion. Nandini sat in silence, not sure what to do or say. What was she thinking? She was so stupid! Instead of checking up on him or going to her brother's party, she was sitting in his office, looking at walls. Stupid girl!

"Ahem. So Nandini, why did you come here? Do you need anything?"

"Huh? No no. I was about to go home but saw the lights on in this room. I just wanted to check if you were ok..."

"That's really sweet of you. I am very exhausted actually. Would you like to have some coffee?"

"Yeah sure. But we'll have to go to a café. The coffee machine here is not working."

"When is it ever working?"

Nandini chuckled at his annoyance. Their coffee machine almost never worked. No matter how many times she had informed the authorities, no one seemed to care.

"Do you know any place nearby? Sorry, but I don't eat out much."

It was obvious Dhruv was a very reserved person. He didn't go around gossiping and chatting uselessly. He just focused on his work.

"Oh yeah. I know a few places. Let's go to the closest one. Then you can go back to your work and I can go home."

"Sounds good."

They both got up. Dhruv picked up his wallet and tightened up his tie. Nandini was looking at him all this time. He sure was good-looking. She had never paid much attention to his looks but he could charm any lady with his looks. He fixed his hair and cleared his throat. He had caught her staring which flustered them both. Dhruv didn't consider himself conventionally handsome. Maybe because of the people he hung out with. His friends Manik and Cabir were surely better looking than him so people never saw him as the "handsome one". Catching a girl, especially someone as beautiful as Nandini, staring at him was a new thing. 

Nandini on the other hand, was equally flustered. She hadn't planned on getting caught. But she couldn't help herself. He was definitely very handsome. Nandini felt a weird aura between them and decided to move along before anything weirder happened.

"Uhm, so let's go."

"Yeah."

Without saying another word, they locked the office and left the building.

Nandini led him to a beautiful rustic café just down the block. It was small but very comfy. They sat in one of the corner booths. 

"So, Dhruv, tell me about yourself."

"Me? Well, there's nothing that special. I completed my degree two years ago and before that I used to be into music a lot. In fact, business was the farthest thing from my mind."

"Woah! That's cool. I appreciate musicians a lot. Well, I guess this explains your creativity!"

"It's cute that you think I'm creative. Mostly I come off as a boring one dimensional person..."

"Really? I don't think so. I find you to be very intriguing."

Dhruv smiled warmly at her words. No one had ever complimented him like this before. He was always in the shadow of Manik the Magnificent. He loved his friends, especially Manik, but it was also true that they babied him a lot and made him feel like he was not self-sufficient. Nandini was the first person to actually appreciate him.

"You'd be the first then."

"I'm good with that. I guess only smart people can tell stones from gems."

Nandini laughed at her over-the-top metaphor. Dhruv just sat there, smiling at her. She was like the sun, radiant and warm.

"Enough about me. Tell me about yourself!"

"Oh silly old me? I'm just another girl trying to make a place in this huge world."

"If I wanted to hear poetry, I'd pick up a book. Come on! Tell me!"

"Ok ok. Fine! I'm originally from Mangalore. I came here looking for a job. And obviously I found one lol."

They chatted for a long time before Nandini checked her watch.

"Oh no! My brother's party is about to begin!"

"Calm down. I'll drop you. I'm not going to do anymore work today anyway."

"I don't want to impose..."

"Nandini Moorthy! When I make friends, I come through with that friendship. I'll drop you. Come on."

She smiled gratefully. Soon enough they reached her apartment.

"Well, this is me."

"Cool. I'll see you tomorrow. Wish your brother a happy birthday on my behalf too!"

"Why don't you come in and join us? He'd love that."

"And you?"

Nandini started blushing.

"Me? I'd like that too."

"Ok then. Let's go!"

They both got out of the car. Nandini followed him in the building. 

"What floor do you live on?"

"Third."

"Ok. Let's take the elevator."

Nandini wanted to refuse but before she could say anything, he dragged them in.

As the elevator started going up, her palms began sweating. She was terrified of them! Soon enough, her worst fear came to life as the elevator stopped midway.

Oh great!