Special guest

      Renee entered her home to the sounds of shouting and clattering pans. Alarmed, she quickly went towards the noise. Maybe something had happened to her boys while she was gone? The thought made her stomach turn, so she hurried her steps in the direction of her kitchen, where the sounds seemed to be coming from. The sight that greeted her wasn’t one she expected. The kitchen looked like a mess, with flour covering every surface and dirty pans stacked on the countertops. Among all the chaos were her boys, who looked like they’ve been through hell – flour and what seemed to be some batter covered their clothes and even their faces.       Though what surprised Renee the most wasn’t the state of the kitchen but the fact that the ones shouting were Riko and Kevin, a rare occurrence when it came to arguing. Neil was the one who caused mischief most of the time and Riko became his unfortunate victim. It had been like this in the Nest and it was like that now, when they weren’t a part of the Ravens anymore. Nobody noticed that Renee was back home, so she decided to use the opportunity to observe the situation.       Jean and Neil were occupying the small table in the corner, chopping vegetables. They were talking about something, but Renee couldn’t hear it over Riko and Kevin’s raised voices. The boys looked unbothered by their brothers’ antics though. Renee shifted her attention to the two troublemakers.       Kevin made a wild gesture towards the bowl standing on the counter. “It clearly needs more water!”       “No, we’re not adding more,” Riko shot back, crossing his arms over his chest. Renee knew how stubborn he could be when he set his mind onto something.       Kevin looked like two seconds away from murdering his brother. “Maybe if you actually fucking read the instructions-”       Renee heard enough. “Boys,” she said and everything stopped at once. Four pairs of eyes stared at her, shocked by her presence. Everyone stood frozen in place for a few seconds, afraid to make the first move.       It was Jean who moved first, the brave boy. “Welcome home, Miss.” He walked up to Renee and kissed her hand. Affection put a smile on her face and she ruffled his hair. It wasn’t an easy task since he was taller than her now. That’s why she liked her boys on their knees – it was simply more practical and they looked way better that way, in her opinion.       “Hi, sweetheart.” No matter how many years had passed, the words still put a light blush to her boy’s cheeks.       Renee looked at her other boys. “And what is happening here?” She was really curious what her boys had been up to.       Riko cleared his throat. “We wanted to surprise you with a fancy dinner, Miss.”       They would be the death of me, Renee thought. “And that’s why the kitchen looks like a pack of flour exploded here?”       Riko and Kevin ducked their heads, now their turn to blush. Kevin mumbled something, but it was too quiet for Renee to hear it.       “I didn’t quite catch it,” she said.       It was Neil who answered her. “The flour really exploded here, Miss.” He ignored his brothers’ horrified looks , his grin an evidence that he was enjoying the current situation.       Renee let out a deep sigh. She was touched that they wanted to do something for her. “Thank you, boys.” She smiled at them. “Finish what you’ve been doing and clean everything up after, okay?” After she got confirmation from them, she continued, “We have a guest coming.” Everyone looked at her with curiosity, but all they got was a wink from her.       After an hour of waiting, the men managed to actually prepare the dinner while Renee was resting after a day full of coaching the newest recruits in the Nest. She was leaving her room to check up on her boys when the doorbell rang. Excited, she quickly opened the door and gently embraced the newcomer.       Thea gladly hugged the other woman back. “Happy to see me, Walker?” she teased.       “Of course,” said Renee eagerly, stepping away from the hug. “Come in.”       “I hope you prepared something for the evening.” Thea grinned at something behind Renee and the woman turned around to see what got Thea’s curiosity. There in the hallway stood Kevin, looking like a deer in the headlights, staring openly at the newcomer. Thea winked at him and the man hurried away. Renee shook her head in exasperation.       “There will be time for this later,” she said, but couldn’t quite hide her amusement. “I need to remind my boys about some rules.”       Thea nearly started bouncing from excitement after hearing the words. “Will you need some assistance?”       Renee really loved her friend. “I thought you’d never ask.”       Yes, it was going to be an amazing evening.