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Loud voices continued to play out as Ice closed the Diner's door behind him, but Ice pushed ahead. His nervousness was started to make his hands sweat, and he quickly wiped them off on his pants. Ice would quicken his pace before slowing down again, wanting to get it over with quickly, but also wanting to rehearse what he wanted to say. His feet automatically lead him up to Alice's door, where he hesitated to knock. Ice hadn't been close with Alice for long, and it felt wrong for him to ask so much. To risk her life when she had already refused, to maybe give up her chance to meet Henry again.

Ice leaned his head against the door, taking long breaths and trying to come up with some kind of explanation to why she should help him. He brought his hand up and gave a gentle knock, slowly moving his head away from the door.

Instead of the usual silence Mercy had to deal with before, Alice swung the door open, in hopes of her friend back at her doorstep. [Color=red]"Merc-

-y...?"[/color]

Ice's face went pale, not expecting her to answer so quickly. In reality, they weren't too close to each other, but Ice felt their faces were only inches apart. [color=orange]"I- Um... Hi Alice..."[/color]

[Color=red]"Um, hey Ice."[/color] Alice lightly waved hello, before stepping aside to let the blood donor inside. [Color=red]"If your wondering, Mercy already told me about what happened to Krista. Nariko's not that different to Alexandria when it comes to romance, isn't she?"[/color] The recon said, picking up a book from where she was sitting before.

Somehow Alice was able to keep her cool, but Ice was the opposite. With a small nod, Ice walked into her room.  He might have remarked more on her room's appearance at any other time, but Ice's brain couldn't really process any of his surroundings right now. [color=orange]"Wha- Oh..."[/color] His hands clenched and unclenched. Standing in the middle of the room, Ice turned to face the Recon, [color=orange]"You- I mean..."[/color] Ice kept choking up.

He really was an idiot.

Ice brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck, [color=orange]"Look, I know you told Calvin you wouldn't help us against any of the droids. And I'm sure you are a Ruella of your word but..."[/color] He sighed, [color=orange]"I can't fight them all by myself. Or with the other..."[/color]

Ice slipped his hand down to his side, [color=orange]"Blast it all! I need your help Alice."[/color]

While she wouldn't admit it, Alice was conflicted with her decision to stay out of the Night of Carnage. On one hand, the recon couldn't contribute much to what they already had, except for fighting the robots. But on the other hand, what the plague doctor told her could be right. A lot of the other infinites didn't have fighting experience, more or less could wield a weapon. 

[Color=red]"Look- I don't know. I wanna help, really, but other than dealing with the idiotic automatons, I'm basically useless."[/color] She explained to Ice, sighing in defeat.

Now that the real question was out in the open, Ice was more confident in himself, [i]especially[/i] with Alice's tone full of doubt. Ice took a few steps closer, [color=orange]"Alice. What we need to do right now is stop the killing machines from what doing what they do best. We need to stop this place from becoming a bloodbath, because we don't just have Nariko to deal with, but the other three too. Both Allie and Calvin are in danger with the bots not having any restrictions and I know we can work together to keep them safe." [/color]

He reached out a hand reassure her, but it met an invisible wall. While that might be the thing he wanted to do, Ice didn't want to intrude on her space. 

[color=orange]"I know this is a horrible thing for me to ask for. And I don't know what I would do without- Without you by my side."[/color] His face was a mixture of embarrassment and pain.

Alice's expression softened once she looked back at Ice. [Color=red]"God, I'm an idiot..."[/color] she mumbled under her breath, holding her head. The recon thought for a moment, before speaking again. [Color=red]"...Fine, I'll help you fight. Just don't let Tinker Bell distract me if [i]she[/i] wants to help. It's bad enough I wanna stab her in the gut for all the, let's be honest, false information about gods and magic and all that malarkey."[/color]

[Color=red]"Besides, I doubt the goddess of love has white hair."[/color]

One of Ice's rare smiles slipped over him before he couldn't stop himself. Ice picked Alice up and twirled her around. All the negative thoughts slipped from his brain as he knew he would have someone so strong by his side.

[Color=red]"WOAH-!!"[/color] The recon yelped, before busting out laughing.

Ice twirled her around for a few more moments before dropping her down lightly and staring into her eyes. Finally it dawned on him how embarrassing this was. He swiftly took a step back, his face a blushing mess. [color=orange]"U-Um... I have no words for how thankful I am..."[/color]

The recon wanted to reassure Ice, but instead of words, a chuckle slipped out of her mouth.

Ice rubbed the back at his neck again, [color=orange]"...Stop laughing."[/color] He was still smiling, and chuckled along with her.

[Color=red]"Sorry, hehehe."[/color] Alice apologized, scratching the side of her head. [Color=red]"But don't worry, actions tend to speak louder than words from time to time."[/color]

[Color=red]"Besides, that was cute of you to do..."[/color] the recon mumbled under her breath

Of course, that just made the Blood Donor blush more. He did, after all, have the extra blood to rush to his face. Not knowing what else to say, he stared at the ground for a second. Now wasn't the time to be laughing, now [i]was[/i] the time for actions to scream louder than words ever could. [color=orange]"Everyone is still deciding in the Diner. Would you rather wait for them to finish and come in later or go now?"[/color]

[Color=red]"Honestly, I don't wanna get involved till things died down a bit."[/color] Alice shrugged.

Ice took a seat on Alice's bed, "It's up to you. Calvin is being nice enough to watch over Aleecia, so we've got a bit of time." Ice reached into his pocket for a candy, and came up empty for the umpteenth time. He visibly frowned.

[Color=red]"Oh, you don't have any more sweets on ya, do you?"[/color] Alice asked, before she rummaged through her jacket pockets to pull out the two pieces of candy Ice had given to her. [Color=red]"I was gonna save these for later, but we can split 'em, if you want."[/color]

Ice's eyes sparkled for a moment, before he shook his head, [color=orange]"I really can't..."[/color] But he was eyeing them like he hadn't eaten anything in days. 

Before Alice could say anything else, Ice walked over, [color=orange]"Well... If you insist."[/color]

The recon then grabbed Ice's hand, and placed one of the pieces of candy inside. [Color=red]"So, why are you always eating sweets?"[/color] Alice asked, popping her piece of candy into her mouth before sitting down.

Ice slipped his in his mouth before playing with the wrapper. [color=orange]"It's actually my replacement for my smoking addiction..."[/color] He twisted the wrapper, rolling it between his fingers. [color=orange]"I did some shady things when my older sister was still around to take care of the little ones. But after she and my parents left, I knew I'd be around the kids all the time."[/color] Ice sat back down on the bed. [color=orange]"I tried to go cold turkey, but when I started carrying candies to bribe my little rascals, I ended up having a lot too. I guess you could say I just switched my smoking addiction to a sugar one. When I woke up... After my coma and first tried to get information, everyone in the underworld either tried to get me to sell drugs or buy them. I had a run in or two in my own gang that would have set me off track if I didn't have my partner..."[/color] Ice ran a hand through his hair, messing up his head bandages to all hell. [color=orange]"I got my ass handed to me by him and he passed me a caramel and I got back into the habit of carrying them around. I stuck with my favorites, but it was a nice change of pace."[/color]

[Color=red]"..."[/color] Alice sat there in silence for a moment, before, on instinct, hugging the blood donor.

Ice froze for a second, not quite processing what had happened. Before the killing game, Ice hadn't had any companionship for years. With all his loved ones lost, he hadn't had any affection or human touch. And normally, Ice wouldn't get close to others enough to touch them. But with Alice, Calvin, and Allie, it reminded him of better days. Ice slipped his arms around her back, leaning his head on Alice's shoulder, and took a long breath. He wanted to say thank you, but he thought the moment would be lost.