Shiro felt Keith squeezing his hand and again with the stomach flips and fizzing. He wondered whether he would get any sleep that night knowing what he had felt there. He watched intently, his eyes flicking between Keith's hands and his face to judge what he was trying to say. He tilted his head to one side, replaying the signs and gestures before recognising that Keith was indeed building a vessel and wanted to use it on the sea. He pulled a concerned face and used his next communication as another excuse to touch him. In truth he enjoyed the rush it was giving him and the cheeky squeezes that Keith gave in return. Even if it meant something different on land.

He placed a concerned hand on Keith's and left it there this time, using his other hand to point to Keith and then at the sea, vigourously shaking his head. He knew that Keith didn't like the sea. He was worried that Keith would be putting himself in danger by trying to sail on it. He didn't want that to be because of him. He squeezed Keith's hand gently, showing his concern for his new friend. He wasn't even sure whether Keith knew how to sail, though he was impressed that he was building a vessel himself. Merfolk were very handy and enjoyed tinkering and building things from the treasures they found beneath the sea. It was a very appealing skill to have and Shiro liked that a lot about Keith.

He also supposed that explained why Keith's hand felt so rough under Shiro's touch. He had faint traces of sawdust and oil on his hands and they were dry from working so hard. He stroked a thumb gently over Keith's coarse skin and studied his face. He was ridiculously handsome now that Shiro knew his skills and an oil stain had made its way onto his chin. Shiro felt an urge to wipe it away and feel the skin of his face, but he stopped himself, knowing that just holding this man's hand was stepping over one boundary too many already.