"What is HE doing here?" Dahlia hissed the longer she continued to stare at the Ape-Man. "Shh! Listen to me, D. I can explain..." Sloane whispered. The gravity girl grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her into the room. Sparrow Eight glared at them as they walked closer to one another, and from the glance she got, Dahlia swore she could've seen them holding hands.

It all suddenly began to click, the deep conversations from when Luther was held captive, the secret meetings in Sloane's room. There was only one explanation for it, had Sloane fallen in love? Dahlia's eyes widened at the thought, Luther was an Umbrella, and Sloane was a Sparrow. It was a love that might as well have been forbidden. And even if Dahlia didn't trust Luther, it still pained her to know that Sloane had been keeping this a secret.

"Slo, why didn't you tell me?" she questioned. Sloane looked over at her lover, who gave her a slight nod. "I couldn't. With everything happening between our families, we didn't want to cause any more drama," She explained. "Still, it's so unlike you to keep something so major quiet. And how am I supposed to trust this relationship?" Dahlia's arms folded across her chest as she stared at the floor. The couple walked towards her, and Sloane took her hand, telling her to look them both in the eyes.

"Dahlia, I know our families got off on the wrong foot. And you have every right not to fully trust me. But I can assure you, promise you even, that I will never bring harm to Sloane. She's... given me a new lease on life, a chance to find love that I never had," Luther vowed. Dahlia was still hesitant. She debated with herself whether he was being serious. But as she looked back to Sloane, she could see a lovestruck gaze in her eyes that she had never seen before.

Come on, Dahlia. Maybe this isn't so bad! Maybe there's something positive that could come from the end of the feud. "Alright, I support you guys. But Luther, if you make Sloane cry or hurt her in any way... be very afraid," Dahlia nodded. Sloane clapped her hands with joy and pulled her into a bear hug. But the moment of joy was not to last, as there was a knock. Sloane gestured for Luther to hide behind her dresser, and she sat on her bed as Dahlia went to answer the door.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked, noticing it was Fei. Sparrow Three had her hands clasped in front of her, a few of her ravens flying right behind. "What are you doing in Sloane's room?" She questioned, peering over her shoulder to see Sloane waving. "Just having a morning convo with my sister," Dahlia excused. Fei pursed her lips, slightly humming under her breath like she was having a hard time believing that. "Mmm, Ben needs a word," She eventually spoke.

"Fine. We'll be down in ten," Dahlia sighed, already dreading what he could possibly discuss. "Not with you..." Fei pushed the door open the rest of the way, giving away Luther's hiding spot. "...him," She smirked. Trying his best to act natural, Luther tried to make conversation with the sun-glassed girl, but she wasn't interested. "H-how did you know?" Sloane stuttered. "We share a wall, and your bed squeaks. It kept me all night,"

Dahlia bit her lower lip to keep herself quiet, avoiding the temptation to blurt out she heard it too. Fei exhaled a quiet breath before she went downstairs, and Sloane quickly shut the door with wide eyes. "I thought we were quiet!" Luther whispered. "Apparently not!" Sloane buried her face in her hands, her cheeks turning bright red. Silence fell over the room as Luther and Sloane embraced, the brunette resting her head against his muscular torso.

"Well, I should probably go see what he wants," Luther spoke after about three minutes of pure awkward silence. "Be careful down there. He's been a bit unreasonable lately," Dahlia warned. The Ape-man nodded before walking towards the door, accidentally slamming it shut. The two women gave each other side-eyes, having the same thought.

"We need to go have a listen,"

~~~~~~~

Ben walked into the living room, standing in the oaked doorway as the Ape-man sat on the couch, tapping his foot and drumming his hand against his knee. The Squid Boy didn't need a mind reader to know he was nervous about what could happen. The fear etched onto his face said it all. As he stepped into Luther's view, he was desperate to ease what anger he possibly had. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to creep into your house. Don't blame Sloane-"

"What's your game?" Ben squinted. "Big fan of Yahtzee," Luther answered, making Ben confused. "You know, old Ben would have laughed at that joke," The Squid Boy scoffed, taking a seat in front of him. His posture could've been considered intimidating. "Okay Gigantor, out with it. What's your family's weird brother Ben fetish?" he inquired. "He... you were the best of us. And you died too soon, the Jennifer Incident-" Sparrow Ben interrupted, asking him to repeat the incident name. But Luther brushed it off.

"It doesn't matter. Just know that we were never the same without you. So, I'll take every second of whatever version of you we got," Luther sighed. "I'm not him, you moron," Ben gritted his teeth. The Ape-man continued, going about how the Umbrella Ben was selfless and how he cared about people. Ben rolled his eyes, desperate to get him to shut his mouth. "Not to mention funny," he played along for a moment, making Luther smile. "Maybe there's a tiny bit of him inside of you,"

Ben's face turned back one of seriousness, and as he stood up, Luther claimed they were just raised in different environments and had different personalities though they were still the same person. "Here we go, the old nature vs nurture argument. I've already had one big dumb brother telling me what to do. I don't need another... but the team might,"

Little did Ben know that Dahlia and Sloane had been eavesdropping from the balcony. They looked at one another, wondering what Ben meant by that statement. Although the blonde was slightly insulted by the dumb comment, Sloane looked rather excited. Whatever, Luther being in charge is better than him. Ben snapped his fingers as he called to Grace, who entered the room carrying a clothing box into the room.

As Luther opened the box, the two women leaned halfway over the balcony to see what was inside. To the three's surprise, it was a red Sparrow uniform. Their suspicions had been confirmed. "I-I can't take this," Luther stammered. "Oh my god! Are you serious?" Sloane squealed, getting everybody's attention as Fei and Christopher walked into the room. "Yes, Sloane. I'd rather have him with us than against us,"

In Dahlia's mind, that statement set off a bunch of red flags, this had to be some trap. Though Ben's plans were usually failures, he was smart when it came to manipulating others. "Aren't you going to try it on? You're about Marcus's size," Ben's tone seemingly became more upbeat. "I'm honored, really I am. It's just... I'm still an Umbrella," Luther responded. 

"You can stay here as long as you like," Ben patted his arm before leaving the room. And as he walked up the stairs, he caught glimpse of Dahlia standing over the bridge. "I know what you're doing," She spoke lowly. "Really? And what exactly am I doing, Lia?" The Icy Sparrow scoffed as she rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to him. "You're trying to recruit him, and when he least expects it, your gonna betray him. Don't deny it. You've done it to everybody else at some point,"

"And since when do you care about the Umbrellas?" He queried. "Because I know one person in this house who has finally found happiness. And I'll be damned if it gets taken away by the likes of you," Suddenly, one of Ben's tentacles came out of his chest, pulling her towards him until they were mere inches away from making contact. Dahlia squirmed as she tried to free herself but once again found herself trapped.

That was until she realized she wasn't powerless. Having her hands free, she conjured not just one but two icicles, ready to impale him from both sides. "You forget who you're dealing with, Ben..." she smirked. "I'm not one to go down without a fight. So, unless you want to break more of the belongings in our house and be trapped in an ice block for the rest of your life, I suggest you let me go,"

The look in her eyes was one of danger and seriousness. Ben attempted to lower her guard by staring back at her. But the intensity of her icy blue orbs overwhelmed him. He exhaled, loud enough for only the both of them to hear as he freed her from his grasp. And as he did, Dahlia's icicles had melted in their truce. "Consider yourself very lucky..." He snarled.