Shiro stopped tickling Keith when his laughter and shouts became so loud he feared that someone from the nearby dwellings would come to find them in fear of someone's death. He grinned and couldn't help but laugh along with Keith as he giggled and rolled on the ground. He leaned up on the wood, his long tail still dangling and swishing in the water but he couldn't take his eyes off Keith. He never wanted this man to stop smiling - he was breathtaking in his happiness. Shiro's laughter died down before Keith's, so he just watched, grinning brightly and enjoying the view before him.

Keith was unlike any other merman or woman that Shiro had met. He felt his emotions so strongly and they hummed around him like a bubble. His current emotion bubbled up like a hot fissure under the sea and it melted into his laughter with bright colours and sounds. He enjoyed seeing Keith this way. The man finally stopped laughing and rolled onto his stomach. Shiro froze when he did so. Now that he was perched on the wooden planks, Keith was suddenly close to him. His face was close enough that if he tried, he might feel Keith's breath on his face. Another difference that Shiro was now completely aware of - Keith's breathing pattern was completely different to his. His breathing came from his chest and was harsh when it pushed its way out of his mouth. Shiro's own breath was close to nothing. His gills worked for him under the sea and only worked at half of their capacity out of the water. He got breathless much quicker out of the sea because his lungs weren't equipped for him to work hard outside of the water, so his chest barely moved when he breathed. Keith's body rippled with the force of his breathlessness and Shiro worked hard not to focus on the panting sounds he was making. He swallowed hard and looked at Keith's gestures instead.

He was pointing to his arm and making adorably large eyes like a child would with their parent. He scrunched up his nose. He wasn't sure what the arm gesture meant, but he was sure that Keith was trying to stay longer. Shiro rolled his eyes and dropped his head to his left shoulder, almost ready to give in. He pointed to himself and then used his hand to make a wriggling motion like that of a swimming fish towards the sand. He would swim with him to shore and see him back to the dwelling, but he didn't want Keith to get sick or actually fall asleep, especially not with the liquid he was drinking. It smelled a lot like the liquid the younger merfolk dug up from the old smugglers caves and he had seen how silly that made them. He didn't want Keith getting into trouble because of it.