Trigger warning for umm, very slight mention of animal gore (and sexual activity)?
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"You're not going either, Alan?" the manager questioned.

It was the end of their shift on Thanksgiving day. Most of the employees left to spend their day with families or friends. The people who didn't have someone to celebrate with or didn't even take part in the holiday stayed for the night shift. Tristan was among them. He was standing with Dahlia, Ahmad, Mary (one of their analysts), and Alan at the latter's desk.

"Heichou, you know I can't leave you alone," he answered causing Dahlia to shake her head at him as chuckles broke out from the group. "Alright, fine," he stated, "My parents travelled away to celebrate it with my sister. I'm not spending Thanksgiving alone in my apartment."

"Seems your parents have a favourite child," Ahmad nudged him, laughing.

"What? No, they don't! She hasn't seen them all year so they're staying with her until the new year."

"That's Christmas and New Year's eve, too," Mary teased, cackling with Ahmad.

"You're both not tasting this food," he pointed at the big foil-wrapped plate on his desk before folding his arms over his chest protectively.

"What?!" Ahamd yelled, "I gave you the recipe!"

"Yes, but I made it."

Tristan cut in their bickering, "What is it?"

"We're not telling you, it's a surprise."

Dahlia sighed at him playfully, "What've you made, Alan?"

He seemed to fold easily when the manager asked him, "Well my ordering experiences hadn't gone well the last two times-"

"Oh yeah, I remember the soggy turkey," Mary made a gagging sound as Ahmad burst into laughter again then he added, "I'm still one hundred percent sure the delivery man fell into a lake somewhere."

"But there are no lakes here," Tristan pointed out.

"Perhaps he dropped the turkey in a puddle," Mary mocked, causing even Tristan to laugh.

"You people don't appreciate my efforts."

"That's enough, guys. Alan made us food this year. That's a lot of effort and we should all thank him before even tasting the food," Dahlia took a pause, "Lest it turns out bad," she added causing the others to holler.

Alan huffed at them, "Heichou, even you?"

"I'm sorry, Alan, I'm just joking. I'm sure whatever you made us will taste great."

"At least better than the turkey," Ahmad added and he chuckled with Mary before Dahlia gave them a warning glance.

"So what did you make?" the manager asked again.

"Shawarma-"

"It's shawerma," Ahmad corrected him.

"Yes, yes shawerma. It's basically a chicken and vegetable wrap."

"the least amount of vegetables," Ahmad chimed in.

"And french fries," Alan continued excitedly, "and a rather messy combination of sauces."

"It's what makes it middle eastern," Ahmad said proudly.

"The mess?" Mary intrigued.

"Yes," Ahamd answered without missing a beat, "Otherwise it would just be a regular, boring chicken wrap."

"Well, I'm excited to taste it," the manager informed them, "After work."

"But-" Mary said before she was cut off.

"You're not here to eat and party. Finish your work first, I'll even allow you to eat in the meeting room. Now I'll have to excuse myself."

Tristan went back to his desk. As he worked, his mind brought up memories. A little swing set in a backyard. A plate of colourful cereal. His mother's smell. His father's voice. It was pathetic how four years of his life vanished leaving behind only these vague moments. Now all his memories revolved around his workplace. Growing up there, learning myriads of talents that would eventually be useful, being entertained by the older workers. The rest of his mind was occupied by his missions. All the different places he'd seen, people he'd met, names he'd adopted.

He didn't even know who he would be outside these missions. Would he still be a charming, intelligent man? What name would he use? The only thing that he knew about himself was his age and part of his race. Corporate didn't change these details since they could be discovered by blood and genetic tests.

"Tristan, hellooo," Tristan came back to Dahlia calling him.

"Oh, sorry, Dahlia."

"I'm hoping that was you focusing on work and not lost in thought," she said with a natural smile on her face.

He let out a chuckle, "Yes, it was work of course. Something wrong?"

"We are going to eat now, you coming?"

"Of course, I'll just finalize everything."

"Alright, we'll wait for you."

Tristan wrapped up his work before going to the meeting room. The lights were dimmed and people were sitting everywhere. The room wasn't as full as during meetings but there were plenty of people. Alan was standing near the food protectively which was more than just the sandwiches he made, Tristan noted. Someone had turned on the TV and was looking for a movie called "White Chicks". 

Tristan found himself wishing Evelyn was here. He'd mostly spent the past two weeks with her. She made sure he truly felt like part of the team. She was spending Thanksgiving with her family, however, so she couldn't join them. 

"Tristan," Alan was holding out a shawarma to him, "Tell me how it is."

Tristan took the wrap from removing the foil from the top before taking a bite. He didn't know how much of a cook Alan was, but this was better than he expected. It brought back memories. Of Tristan having dinner on the ground with a family. Of similar tasting food that he'd never eaten anywhere else. Of blood and screams in a war-torn country. Tristan pushed the thoughts away.

"Wow, it's really good, Alan."

"Yeaaaah! You hear that!" he yelled at Ahmad, who was sitting across the room with another employee. 

"My mom's is still better."

"Well, he can't compete with your mom," Tristan laughed at them.

"Alright, people, settle down," Dahlia gathered their attention, "You guys can have fun and eat but no drinking," she looked around, "I'm talking to you, Tom."

The man sitting with Ahmad answered her, "I only brought kool-aid this time, Dahlia."

"Good, whenever you're ready, Lizzie."

Tristan sat with Alan and Mary. They watched the movie, which turned out better than Tristan expected. Mary told them about her childhood pets. 

"Oh god, you didn't," Alan whisper shouted at her.

"He was so small and I was running into the room. I didn't see him."

She had stepped on her poor bunny by accident which made it sick.

"He died a few days later. Safe to say my parents didn't get me any more pets till I was in middle school."

"Oh I know that story," Alan commented, "The hamsters."

"The hamsters," Mary said with a mysterious aura. 

"What happened?" Tristan urged them. He'd eaten half of his shawarma and some spring rolls that another employee brought from a Chinese place. He was full and cozy and felt like he could sleep right here. He felt like he could sleep peacefully for the first time in a very long time.

"Well," Mary's voice broke his train of thoughts as she continued telling her hamster story, "People always talk about how cute and furry they are. No one warned us about the sex drive." That startled Tristan into a laugh. "And their cannibalism," Mary added with a shudder.

Alan choked on his kool-aid, "Oh, I did not expect that."

"I think that's enough hamster stories, Mary," Dahlia's voice was heard before she was seen. She took a seat beside Alan.

"Sorry, Dahlia," Mary apologized.

"How's your first office Thanksgiving going?" she looked at Tristan.

"Well, I don't usually celebrate Thanksgiving but this is nice," he responded.

"Oh?" she looked at him questioningly. Tristan was, for the first time, aware of her eyes and their uniqueness. He saw all kinds of people and creatures. All different races and physiques. But for some reason, he never saw a person with heterochromia. He'd noticed Dahlia's eyes right after Evelyn mentioned them. Right now, however, they looked different. He could see the curious glint in them. 

Tristan shook his head, bringing his head back to the present. Dahlia raised an eyebrow at him, "I thought you'd seen my eyes before."

"Yes, but they never looked so pretty," Tristan stated simply.

"Thank you," she answered with her usual smile. She didn't blush or get flustered and Tristan liked that. He'd rarely met people who could take compliments without thinking they had a deeper meaning behind them. They watched the rest of the movie in content silence.

December passed by in a breeze. Tristan had already settled in. 

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This is my first author's note here and it's about shawerma. I know it's written shawarma but everyone can die, when my characters say it, they'll say it right. Anyways, hope you liked the chapter.