ArIya/ETF OS: Rain, Coffee aur Thoda Pyaar

Rain, Coffee aur Thoda Pyaar

One the occasion of my birthday 🫶🏻

The ETF office buzzed unusually early that morning. The smell of freshly brewed coffee mixed with the faint hum of Shree’s computer. Chotu was munching on samosas from the canteen, while Ayesha sat cross-legged on a desk, flipping through case files.

Rathod entered first, crisp uniform, sharp expression. “Good morning, team,” he said with that deep voice of command.

“Good morning, Sir!” echoed the room—well, everyone except one.

At the far end, Arjun Suryakant Rawte leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes on the file but mind clearly elsewhere. His presence commanded silence, yet somehow Riya’s chatter managed to pierce even his stoic bubble.

“Sir! Yeh dekhiye,” Riya chirped, sliding a file in front of him. “Last night ke club cameras ke frames main kuch weird dikha tha. Main ne zoom karke dekha—”

Arjun didn’t look up. “Aur weird tumhara excitement hai, Riya,” he muttered dryly.

Riya pouted. “Sir, main serious hoon.”

That earned her a fleeting smirk—blink and you’d miss it—but Shree caught it. “Oho! ACP Rawte actually smiled! Quick, someone note the date and time!”

“Shree!” Riya glared, but the blush had already crept up her cheeks.

Chotu joined in, laughing, “Lagta hai Rawte sir ke smile ki wajah kuch khaas hai, haan?”

Arjun gave them that look—one that could silence even thunder. The team froze. A beat passed. Then Arjun’s lips twitched again, almost amused.

“Kaam kar lo, warna Rathod tum sabko field pe bhej dega bina lunch ke,” he said quietly.

Rathod, entering just then, raised an eyebrow. “Kisne bola? Mujhe bhi pata chale.”

The office burst into laughter.

***

By afternoon, a different kind of operation had begun—Operation: Arjun ka Birthday.

Rathod had discovered that the day happened to be Arjun’s birthday—a fact Arjun would never acknowledge himself.

“Sir, hume kuch karna chahiye,” Riya insisted, eyes sparkling with mischief.

Shree typed furiously on his computer. “Already planning it, Ri. Party. Cake. Decorations. Secret code name: Operation A—”

“Operation A?” Chotu snorted. “Zyada creative naam nahi mila?”

Ayesha rolled her eyes. “Focus, boys. Riya, tum distract karogi Arjun ko. Simple. Usse office se bahar le jao, hum sab yahan sab ready kar lenge.”

Riya froze. “Main?! Sir ko distract karu?”

Shree smirked. “Kya hua, Ri? Nervous?”

She glared. “Bilkul nahi!” Then softly added, “Bas... thoda difficult hai na, woh...”

“Woh?” Ayesha teased.

“Woh... intimidating,” Riya admitted.

Chotu chuckled. “Intimidating? Rawte sir toh sirf case ke waqt hote hain aise. Baaki time... hmm...”

“Baaki time bhi same hote hain,” Shree interrupted. “Bas Riya ke saamne thoda zyada intense lagte hain.”

“Shree!” she hissed, throwing a file at him.

***

Arjun stood near the balcony, coffee mug in hand, eyes scanning the distant city. Riya approached hesitantly, file in hand, rehearsing in her head.

“Sir, woh... mujhe kuch poochna tha,” she began.

“Poocho.”

“Woh... coffee pe chalein?”

Arjun blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Matlab... discussion ke liye! Case discuss karte hue coffee le lete hain!” she corrected hurriedly, cheeks pink.

He watched her squirm for a moment—then nodded. “Fine.”

A few minutes later, they sat at the small café across the street. Riya stirred her cappuccino, trying to act casual, but her heart was practically doing somersaults.

Arjun, as usual, was calm, sipping his black coffee.

“Sir, aapko kabhi lagta hai... life thodi boring hai?” she asked suddenly.

He looked at her. “Tumhare aas-paas boring? Mushkil hai.”

Riya blinked. “Aap... compliment kar rahe the?”

“Observation tha,” he said, deadpan—but the corner of his lips curled, betraying him.

Riya giggled. “Aapke observation ke tone main toh compliment kaafi clearly sunai diya.”

He shook his head. “Tum impossible ho.”

“Thank you,” she said brightly.

He sighed, but there was fondness in his eyes—a rare softness that Riya caught just before her phone buzzed.

Message from Shree: “All set. Delay him 10 more minutes. Over and out.”

Riya panicked. Ten more minutes?!

She fumbled for conversation. “Sir, aapne kabhi birthday celebrate nahi kiya?”

Arjun’s eyebrow twitched. “Kaise pata tumhe aaj mera birthday hai?”

Oops.

“Woh... main... actually... bas... Shree ne bola tha—mera matlab nahi—”

He leaned back. “Operation Birthday Surprise, hmm?”

Her eyes widened. “Aapko kaise—”

“ETF main hoon, Riya. Observation skills hain.”

She bit her lip, embarrassed. “Toh aap gussa nahi hain?”

He exhaled softly. “Nahi. Bas... unnecessary hai.”

“Unnecessary nahi, sir. Kabhi kabhi... khushi bina reason ke bhi milni chahiye.”

For a second, the seriousness in her eyes made him forget how to breathe. Then he murmured, “Tum bhi ek reason ho khushi ka, Riya.”

She blinked, stunned. “Sir?”

“Observation tha,” he said again, smirking into his cup.

Her heart fluttered like crazy.

***

Evening approached, and the “surprise” turned into a full-on outing plan. Rathod officially announced, “Tomorrow’s team-bonding exercise—picnic. Non-negotiable.”

Shree and Chotu cheered; Ayesha grinned; Riya practically bounced. Arjun, however, groaned silently.

Next morning at the park, Shree was setting up cricket gear, Chotu was unpacking food, and Riya arrived in jeans and a soft lavender top, looking radiant.

Arjun, wearing a casual black t-shirt and shades, looked every bit the reluctant participant.

Shree whispered to Riya, “Tumhara hero aa gaya.”

She smacked his arm lightly. “Shut up, Shree.”

They played cricket first. Riya batted. Arjun bowled. The team chanted, “Riya! Riya!”

“Ready?” Arjun asked, tone teasingly calm.

“Always,” she replied, chin up.

He bowled—a perfect spin. Riya swung—missed—and the ball gently tapped her leg.

“Out,” Arjun said, almost smiling.

“Cheating!” she protested. “Aapne toh slow ball daala tha!”

“Tumhe laga main easy lunga?”

“Hmph!” she crossed her arms, but her lips curved in a smile.

Shree laughed. “Aap dono ka chemistry toh cricket se zyada interesting hai.”

***

On the drive back, dark clouds gathered. The rain poured suddenly, drenching the city. The team took shelter at the office, power flickering out moments later.

“Power cut,” Shree groaned. “Kuch toh karo, yaar!”

“Relax,” Ayesha said. “Let’s play something. Rapid fire?”

Everyone agreed. Even Arjun stayed, silently sipping coffee.

Rathod started. “Favorite color?”

“Ayesha?” Rathod smiled.

“Blue,” she answered.

“Shree?”

“Gadgets. Matlab silver!”

“Riya?”

“Lavender,” she said softly.

Then Shree grinned wickedly. “Aur Rawte sir ka?”

All eyes turned. Arjun didn’t answer.

Riya teased, “Sir, bataiye na. Favorite color?”

He looked at her for a long moment and said quietly, “Lavender.”

The room went silent for two beats. Riya froze. Her heart skipped. Shree and Chotu exchanged looks but said nothing.

The power flickered back on, lights glimmering as rain continued outside.

Later, as the others left, Riya lingered by the window. Arjun joined her silently.

“Sir, aapne sach mein lavender bola tha?” she asked shyly.

He shrugged lightly. “Observation tha.”

She smiled. “Observation... ya confession?”

He didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he looked at her, eyes soft yet intense. “Tumhe jo samajhna hai, samajh lo, Riya.”

A quiet laugh escaped her lips. “Toh main samajh leti hoon... ki aapko coffee aur lavender dono pasand hain.”

He smiled—a real one this time. “Aur tum dono ho.”

Her breath caught.

Outside, thunder rolled faintly, but inside, everything stilled—two hearts caught between unspoken words and quiet realization.

Riya blushed furiously, looking away. “Sir...”

“Observation tha,” he whispered again, but the faint warmth in his tone gave it away completely.

***

The next day, the team entered to find a box of lavender macarons on the desk with a note:

For the best observation ever – Riya 💜

Arjun glanced at it, shook his head with a rare, fond smile, and murmured,
“Tum impossible ho, Riya.”

From across the room, she called sweetly, “Thank you, sir!”

The team burst into laughter.

And for once, even the great Arjun Rawte didn’t mind the chaos.

***

Light rain, black coffee, lavender blush — and one quiet “observation” that said everything words never could. 💜

~The End~

It's cute and heart warming and that's all I needed after the other ff I am following in this forum 🤣🥰

I love how you write the dialogues for Arjun and riya. The back and forth and how through dialogues we see them. That observation tha was so cute.

Aww. Arjun finally loosening up. Good progress.

Riya anxious on having to engage Arjun till the surprise party preparation is nice.

Ayesha addressing Arjun on first name basis? Yeh toh latest news hain.

Calling "Rawte sir" is.............different?

Shree the ever enthusiast and Chotu the food enthusiast.

This is so darn cute & heart warming! Heartiest birthday wishes, sis! 🎂 many more happy returns of the day!

Happy Birthday Dear...❤️❤️❤️.

This shot is really cute & warming...loved it very very much....💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Originally posted by: missFiesty_69

This is so darn cute & heart warming! Heartiest birthday wishes, sis! 🎂 many more happy returns of the day!

Thank you so much my love 💕 It was yesterday 🥰. Glad you liked it! 😘🫶🏻

Originally posted by: naaheean

Happy Birthday Dear...❤️❤️❤️.

This shot is really cute & warming...loved it very very much....💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Thank you so much 💕 It was yesterday 🥰. Glad you liked it! ☺️🫶🏻

Originally posted by: stardust108

This was so sweet and cute! Loved Riya and Arjun's interactions 😊! Happy birthday!

Thank you so much my love 💕 It was yesterday 🥰. Glad you liked it! 😘🫶🏻

Originally posted by: Bodhianveshika

Aww. Arjun finally loosening up. Good progress.

Riya anxious on having to engage Arjun till the surprise party preparation is nice.

Ayesha addressing Arjun on first name basis? Yeh toh latest news hain.

Calling "Rawte sir" is.............different?

Shree the ever enthusiast and Chotu the food enthusiast.

Haha right? Even Arjun Rawte couldn’t escape team mischief this time 😏 Poor Riya had to multitask—manage the surprise and the man of few words! As for Ayesha calling him by first name… let’s just say ETF mein bhi breaking news milti rehti hai 😄