His droopy eyes widened with full attention as soon as Shiro took hold of his hand, and he found himself letting him hold it for as long as he wished. His palm felt soft when he dropped his fingers to gently touch the skin, but he could still feel faint scar marks on his hand.  Even with that feeling, Keith still found himself loving the warmth this hand brought him, and he was instantly reminded of how much he missed skin to skin contact no matter how much he denied it. Though, when Shiro pulled his hand closer to his lips and planted what felt like the most gentle kiss against his knuckles, the boy knew he was done for.

He just kissed him. And if he wasn't initially charmed by anything related to this merman, he absolutely, undoubtedly was now. A dark blush embraced his cheeks, and his eyes never left the creature as he let his hand go, swimming away. The kissed hand was now against his chest, and he could almost feel his heart hammering. Oh shit. [b][i]Shit, shit, shit.[/i][/b] Within seconds, he was on his feet, hoping he at least had some small ounce of control over his emotions before he turned and once again lost his cool the moment their eyes met. Only then did Keith remember that he had a home to return to, but he felt wide awake now.

Such a simple gesture was bound to leave Keith playing it back in his head all night, burning into his mind so that he never forgets it, even as he wakes up the next morning. 

He walked up the dock, his movement deliberately slow as the overwhelming feeling in his chest still thumped, until he was inches away from the abalone shell Shiro gifted him. He held it in his arms, before he was finally up on the sandy stairs, only a few steps away from his shack. He took a deep breath, before he glanced at the merman again. He hoped he couldn't see him blush, and instead he waved at him, shooting him a fond smile before he turned, up on the stairs the way he came. What he hadn't noticed, were the words that slipped out of his mind and over to Shiro's telepathically, three words all at once. Loud and clear in Keith's voice. [i]Sleep well, Shiro.[/i]

Once inside his shack, he closed the door shut behind him, resting his head against the wood before he began to feel at the kissed hand with his other hand. He placed the shell in front of the window pane, expecting the rainbows to hit his face while he slept in the morning. He continued to touch at it, the slight wetness on his knuckles driving shivers through his spine until he fell back on his bed, his smile dissipating into a peaceful expression. He was feeling so many feelings at once, and not one was negative, for the first time in a while. The ceiling was suddenly interesting, and the bed was pretty cozy, and soon enough he was asleep, his eyes shut and breathy snores leaving his lips. What he initially thought was a boring night turned out to be the best night of his whole life.