It happens so quickly. Alice doesn't even realise what he's doing until Allen is already holding her. She sputters in protest out of sheer instinct, but at the same time she doesn't do a thing to actually try and get out of the hold. It's just.. so strange. There have been so few people who have ever held her, let alone people who have done so in the past ten years, so it feels so strange.

But she can't push him away. Not when he just shared something like this with her. There's no way she can push him away when he's even been pushed away by his own parents of all people.

Not to mention.. he may be trying to hide it, but it's so hard to not notice those tears when he's this close to her. She can't see them from her current position, sure, but she can hear them in his voice, in his breath. Alice is rude, and she can definitely be cruel, but she's trying not to be. Especially in situations where it matters. Like right now.

"You dolt.." Something about the word sounds oddly affectionate, despite the scolding that comes right along with it. "I'm not doing anything special. I have absolutely no idea what your parents were thinking, but-- how could people not care about you? You may be an absolute idiot, but you're sweet and kind to the people around you. You try to help out everyone and smile."

She pauses, hesitates, but then slowly puts her hands on his shoulders. It's weirdly shakey, like she's unsure, but Alice pulls him slightly closer. "Who wouldn't care about a person like that? Don't thank people for something as simple as that."