A small, genuine smile curved Earl's lips when he silently stared at Ren for a few seconds.
Since that night when Earl lost everything all at once, he had no one left in his life to give him that kind of quiet assurance.
And after waking up in this new world, expecting someone he could call his friend or close enough to be a family almost felt like an impossible wish.
And that's the reason, without realizing it himself, Earl had completely stopped expecting anything from this prejudiced world.
Perhaps, he had grown so used to fighting the world alone that sensing the raw warmth in Ren's quiet gesture truly soothed his broken heart.
Earl gently tried to slide his arm back and put a pillow beneath Ren's head so he could sleep more comfortably.
But the slight movement was enough to make Ren immediately jolt up from his sleep.
He snapped his eyes open and blinked rapidly for a split second before his gaze locked onto Earl's ocean eyes.
