Ziva then became aware of a lot of hushed whispering at the door she raised an eyebrow at Fakhir who just gave her a confused look back.
Suddenly the door opened and Amelia poked her head in.
"Are you two ready to play now?"
The two of them looked at each other.
"Yes," Fakhir said with a slow nod. "We are."
"Good because Liu is getting very impatient."
"I am not! You were the one who was complaining that they were taking a long time!" Liu retorted from the living room.
"She's lying," Amelia whispered.
"I am not!"
"And apparently has ears like a bat."
"Do bats even have ears?" Fakhir asked, distracted.
Amelia gave him an odd look. "Pretty sure all animals do."
"I mean," he put his hands to his own ears and flapped them. "Do they have visible ears?"
"Have you ever seen a bat, Fakhir? Of course, they have ears!"
"I have seen the cartoon ones for Hallowe'en but surely those aren't lifelike?"
"Near enough!"
The two of them turned to Ziva as if to get her to verify whether bats had visible ears but she didn't know either.
"I don't know!" she said defensively.
Why on earth would she know about bats? She knew dozens of ways to kill people not dozens of animal facts!
"Isn't one of your friends from work like a vampire bat or something?" Amelia felt the need to interject.
"Abby. And she is a goth, not a vampire bat."
At least, Ziva didn't think so anyway. Though, she wouldn't put it past Abby to become one if she felt like it.
"Bats definitely have ears!" Lucas said in exasperation, poking his head around the door and looking very displeased. "Now can we start playing, please?"
Ziva looked up at the clock, about half an hour had passed since she had arrived. Everyone had probably waited long enough to actually start this scrabble night. It was a good thing Francisca wasn't here or else she would have probably already dragged them into the room already.
"Sounds like a good idea," Amelia agreed, grabbing Ziva by the arm or trying to as Ziva didn't let her. "Come on, let's go play."
"Yes, we shall play like bats!" Fakhir declared, sitting himself at his table.
"That doesn't even make any sense, Fakhir..."
"If course it does!"
"Bats are blind, I'm pretty sure we need our eyes for this game."
"Did I hear that you had gone to Iraq?" Lucas asked loudly to interrupt them as they all selected their tiles.
"You went to Iraq?" Liu asked in horror. "Isn't there fighting going in there?"
"No and yes," Ziva answered in turn. "I did not go but some of my colleagues did."
"But the fighting?"
"That's why they went, there is a Marine Base there."
"Oh."
No one seemed to know what to say to that so they just said nothing. Which was a bit uncomfortable because Ziva was not good at small talk and she really needed the subject to be changed. Thankfully, Amelia came to the rescue.
"These cookie things are delish," she said through a mouthful. "Really tasty."
Fakhir gave her a sad sort of smile. "They are traditional in my country," he told her. "They are called kleicha."
"Well, they are amazing. What's the filling?"
"Dates," Ziva replied for him, not needing to take a bite of her own to know that.
That was what they were most commonly filled with in her experience. Which was plenty. There were similar stacks to this all over the Middle East. The Iraqi ones were definitely the tastiest in her experience.
"Dates? Really? That is not what I expected dates to taste like." Amelia said, peering at the half she hadn't eaten.
"What did you expect them to taste like?" Liu asked, absentmindedly taking another kleicha.
"I don't know. Not something this delicious anyway."
"Meh, dates are okay," the young student dismissed.
Ziva and Fakhir stared at her in disbelief.
"Excuse you," Fakhir said in the most insulted voice Ziva had ever heard him muster. "Dates are God's gift to the earth."
"Eh."
Honestly, Ziva did not know what was wrong with Liu. Obviously, dates were the superior dessert flavour (seconded only by something with cinnamon in it).
"Then what is your favourite pastry filling?" Fakhir demanded.
"Red bean paste, obviously."
Ziva did not know what that was but she already knew that it wouldn't be as nice as dates. Dates were just amazing.
"No."
"You can't just say 'no' to me, Fakhir! It's my opinion."
"Well, your opinion is wrong."
"An opinion can't be wrong!"
"It can and yours is."
At least Fakhir was not sad anymore, Ziva mused. Okay, arguing with someone was also not a positive emotion but surely it was a step in the right direction? It distracted him from his homeland sickness anyway. Though this might get him injured, especially with the way Liu was glaring at him. He might prefer homesickness to a trip to the hospital.
"My opinion is not wrong. Your stupid dates are wrong!"
"I am the chef here; I think I am the one in the right."
"Not about this! Ziva! Help me!"
"I have already agreed with Fakhir on this one."
Liu turned to Amelia. "Amelia?"
Amelia paused in her chewing of yet another one. She swallowed her mouthful and wiped her lips.
"Sorry, these are just amazing."
Liu threw her hands up in disgust.
"I can't believe all of you!"
"I can't believe we haven't started playing yet," Lucas said pointedly.
Thankfully for him, Amelia came to his rescue. And possibly Fakhir's as well.
"Right! Enough about the delicious snacks, it's game time," she announced, cracking her knuckles.
"You were the one snacking!"
"And now I've stopped," Amelia dismissed. "Game time!"
"Which I am going to win," Liu said confidently.
For the first time that evening, Fakhir smiled a proper smile. One that wasn't sad. Sure, it was a competitive one but it was better than him being sad.
"I think you will find that I am going to win."