Hello everyone. I found myself with a bit of time and wanted to get back to some of my older, creative outlets. This story arc was always a lot of fun for me to write, and for years I had one particular chapter that I wanted to add once I felt up to crafting it properly. I sense I may delete it and rework some sections in the future, but for now I hope you enjoy it.

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The paper sheet forest.

Kuki came into the library and waved to the student working the circulation desk. The younger girl returned the wave with a smile, but out of courtesy to the rules of the library they did no more than whisper a quiet hi to one another, even though the library hardly had any patrons on a Saturday afternoon.

Kuki had worked at the library a great deal while in undergrad, and knew most of the staff still working here now. Now as a graduate student Kuki had to focus on completing her studies without getting distracted with part-time work - even if it meant that her student debt was accruing while she put herself through her nursing program. It stressed her out at times to imagine the growing debt balance that she was responsible for, but it was all done in the service of her education and her long-term career prospects, so she bore the stress as best she could.

After passing the circulation desk Kuki walked toward one of the large tables in the main hall where she could set out the books and papers she brought with her to read from and write in. She had a laptop too, but she found that the simple motion of drawing a writing implement across a sheet of paper helped her to learn the material better than if she just typed it on a screen.

After setting up and organizing her materials, Kuki opened her phone and saw that she had a text from her study partner.

Be there soon.

She started to craft a response, then stopped herself, deleted the text she had composed, and with a smile she rattled off a long series of underscores and periods.

_._ _

'_ _ _'

.._

_..

_...

.

'_'

'_'

.

._.

:)

It was a longer way to say something simple, but she liked doing it for the increased practice that kept her knowledge of Morse code fresh. After sending it, she took a moment to scroll back through her messages and marveled that she kept answering with this kind of long-hand method as far back as the day after getting back from Japan.

While on the flight back to America with Wally several months ago, Kuki had wanted to keep talking after their 'first night' and what a relationship going forward might look like. It had not been possible to discuss it in the car with her grandparents, and it was difficult to do so when sitting in plane seats next to economical business people and families who were making constant trips up and down the aisles during the flight. Anyone would be able to hear what they said, and she had wanted to bring up some of the intimate aspects of the previous night and discuss what they meant for them in terms of relationship expectations. Typing messages to one another on their phones might have worked for a little while, but once the batteries ran out they would be silenced again.

Wally had found a solution by downloading two PDFs to his phone before the plane started to taxi: one was for Morse code, the other for American Sign Language. He and Kuki had spent a few hours practicing letters with either technique, and once they had the hang of things they had started talking to one another with hand signs, and tapping on one another's arms and legs. It had been a good choice because his phone battery was almost dead by the time they started to be able to communicate more than a word or two without needing to double-check the dictionary. It was also good in that this had given them excuses to be physical in a way that was somewhat acceptable in public, even if it was a bit juvenile.

The communication was slow, but they had been able to talk through a few things without ever speaking. After hours of delicate, letter-by-letter communication, the end result was that they both admitted that they were committed to making a real effort to advance this relationship. While neither were going to forgo their respective career paths for one another if it ever came to a choice, they agreed that they would date, officially and exclusively, and help one another in the next stages of their collective existence - and that they were eager to continue exploring their physical compatibility once they got back to the 'States.

Kuki still liked to text Wally in periods and underscores, and in person she still liked to tap out simple words on his arms. When they first tried it on the plane Kuki had been so stimulated by those simple touches that she had wanted to get into some more intense cuddling right there in their seats. Since they had gotten back to school, Kuki had taken to using Morse code taps to indicate to him when she wanted something but felt she needed to be discreet in asking. Sometimes it was simply to let him know she was hungry, or sleepy, or bored so that he could help attend to her needs expediently, whatever the setting - especially if others were around. Tapping his arm with a finger tip, or the whole finger, had also given her plenty of opportunities to touch him in any setting, and he had done the same for her in turn... sometimes they even tapped on body surfaces other than the arm.

Back in the present, Kuki received a response with two hand emojis: a hang-ten and a fist. She knew that was Wally trying to sign 'Y' and 'S', or 'yes' regarding her demand.

Wally could communicate in Morse code as well, but had taken a greater interest in Sign Language once he had been able to combine it with his knowledge of martial arts. He said that many of the letters reminded him of certain hand positions for different strikes in kung fu. He went further to say that it made letters feel like strikes, words feel like combinations, sentences like forms, and conversations like combat. Whatever they may have meant to him, he had learned them well.

Kuki put her phone away and got back to reading and taking notes. As she went, she would often leave little dots and dashes in the margins to say something was 'I'mportant (..), or 'S'erious (...), or of the 'H'ighest importantce (...).

After half an hour of working on her notes, she heard one of the chairs across from her slide out, and someone set their book bag on the table in front of her. She had not heard the approach, so it made her smile to consider that there was only one person she knew who could stay so light on their feet.

My boyfriend.

She snuck a quick peek to see that indeed it was him, and once she confirmed it she settled back into her papers. Before she did, Wally met her gaze with a smile as he set up his own books and sat down to read his articles and make notes for his classes. He scanned the room first as he sat down across and to her right, seeing that there were few others around. He also looked closely among the book stacks as if he expected to catch people peering at them.

Feels like we're in a paper sheet forest, he had said out loud to her once, and so it was. A vast thicket of paper sheets sandwiched and bound and stacked densely across hundreds of wooden and metal shelves. Wally liked hiking and enjoyed traipsing through a forest, but he always like taking it in one tree at a time. Here he could think of this place in terms of its parts - the many pieces of paper.. After her time spent working here, Kuki knew that one had to view the library in a more abstract way to keep up with the organization - seeing forest as well as the trees. That said, she still found it charming to think of this place as a forest.

The library definitely gave the impression of being some place where the distractions of the rest of the world did not impose themselves so keenly. That was why she and Wally came here on Saturdays to work near one another. Apartments had so many things crammed into such a small space that it sometimes became hard not to get distracted. The couch sometimes felt like it was just inviting you to nap for a moment. The television often drew the eye whether it was on or off. Having the fridge nearby just begged you to get a snack.

Whenever Wally was around, Kuki found that her biggest distraction was the proximity of a bedroom and the possibilities it afforded them to explore their intimacy. After they had settled into a routine of classes and semi-regular outings, she and Wally had started up their physical relationship again. Ever since Japan, the two had found it difficult to put aside their carnal appetites unless they were someplace where it would be inappropriate. To be sure, they were not devoid of the ability to control themselves, they merely saw little need to do so when it was clear to one another how much they enjoyed the physical interactions they were exploring.

The library, for the most part, helped to squelch the drive just enough to get their work done together, but she knew that they were in for a rough time of it today. The previous night they had had one of their few proper dates since their grad programs had started up again. The two had gone to a nice, evening-only restaurant after Friday labs and shared a good meal - they even shared a glass of wine. There were no tests in the next week, so they were not cramming and could afford some time together. After eating, Kuki had insisted that they should go on a walk to burn off the heavy meal and get themselves ready to sleep. Wally had insisted on some partnered activity like sparring, but Kuki had little interest in martial arts and knew she would just look foolish. She had good reflexes and flexible limbs, she could dodge, but she would not be able to block or return any strikes. Wally had then teasingly suggested another coupled activity, but it had been a long week and neither of them were quite up to it - though the desire was still there. He had walked her to her apartment after the lengthy sojourn, then shared a good night kiss before heading back to his place to shower and sleep. Now, after a peaceful night, Kuki was revisiting the thought of 'coupled activity', and she knew that she would be in danger of acting on it a great deal more if she were not in the paper sheet forest.

Appetites have a way of sneaking up on young adults, and so it was for Kuki and Wally as well. After an hour and a half of reading and writing, mid-afternoon was settling on them and they were starting to lose focus. Each had taken moments to stretch, walk to the fountain to get some water, or stand up and pace, but they had also found themselves repeatedly looking across the table at one another. In fact, they had started engaging in so much back-and-forth eye contact that it was beginning to cut into their productivity.

More than that, Kuki was finding herself increasingly aroused by Wally's stares. His green eyes casually scanned her from underneath his straw-like bangs, glancing from her eyes down to her shoulders, lingering on her chest, then down to where the table hid the rest of her lower body. Then he would proceed his surreptitious inspection in reverse from the table and up to her eyes. She felt her stomach tying itself in knots when their eyes met, and her face became flushed. She kept pulling her lower lip into her mouth where she bit at it and wetted it with her tongue. She might have snaked a leg out to stroke against his calf with her foot, but Wally had seated himself just out of reach, so she had to settle for looking and knowing that she was being 'respectfully ogled' by him.

At last Kuki decided that enough was enough and some tension needed to be released. It would only take a few minutes, and it would not be sex, but the activity would be sensual and fun, and hopefully they would be able to go back to work with better focus afterwards. She turned her eyes slightly askance from Wally to make sure no one was watching. She pursed her lips in her uniquely cute way, trying to hold a smile at bay so that no one else could see. Her cheeks were turning pink and she knew for certain that even though he had not moved, Wally had his attention completely on her. With her long, slender fingers, Kuki began to sign letters to him. She gave three very crisp motions, though they were delivered almost languidly as part of the deep and intimate meaning they conveyed. Those three letters managed to do two things to the young man she directed them towards. The first outcome was that she ensnared his attention so thoroughly that he seemed to forget that he was in the library for any reason other than her. The second outcome was a hormone load to Wally's brain that nearly shut it down. If nothing else, she noticed that it caused him to drop his pen on the table.

Wally watched Kuki's hand move between three positions in repetition, and in his mind he rattled off the names he used for memorizing them:

Long-fingered Southern Dragon claw,

Tiger claw squeezed tight,

Phoenix eye and tucked-thumb.

W-E-T... W-E-T... W-E-T...

Wally's eyes went wide and reflexively he took a deep gulp.

In the last few weeks, Kuki had used that particular word either in speech, hand signs, or tapped in Morse Code whenever she wanted to put the books aside and go do something physically pleasing. The activity might take different forms, but always involved actions that were wholly inappropriate to demonstrate anywhere they could be seen.

But no one can see us among the books, each of them thought.

Back when she had worked at the library, Kuki learned that some students, including those doing work-study like herself, would wander into certain corners of the library when others were not around, and used the temporary privacy to get a bit handsy. Kuki had never done it herself since she never really found a boy she felt comfortable doing that with; until Wally of course. She had used the old trick a couple of times with him here in the last week or two, and it was an exciting way to release some tension and take a break from studying. The word she was signing to him she had taken to using because it described the state of a very specific part of her anatomy; one which he had developed a deep fascination with and was learning to appreciate in many ways.

They moved like dancers undergoing a choreographed set of motions. Kuki stowed her papers and books in her backpack and tucked it under the table, then looked Wally square in the eyes as she stood up. As she walked into the book stacks she gave him one last shy yet seductive backwards glance. He waited a full fifteen seconds before stowing his own materials and following her.

Kuki knew that the far corners of the reference sections would not see anyone for days at a time, and she knew that right now they should be unoccupied. There were no massive exams due, so none of the aisles would be visited by random grad students needing to look up obscure information related to their qualifying exams. Reshelving would have already happened with the books that had been in the drop-off box from this morning. The cleaning staff would not be in to vacuum until later that night. Effectively, a part of the paper sheet forest would be as secluded as being in a real forest.

Kuki walked down the corridor and turned into the stacks she knew would be unoccupied. Wally was coming up nearly ten meters behind her, moving tenderly, and stopping at each intersection to be sure that there was no one else around. She smiled at his caution - knowing it was a bit overkill - but she made no comment. She approved of his attentiveness and saw no reason to discourage him even though she knew that they were alone.

When he finally got to the corridor she had tucked herself into, she grabbed hold of him and and pulled his head in tight as she pressed her lips to his. He responded by putting one arm around her back to pull her up against him and ran the other from under her arm and along her lower back.

When he brought one of those hands up under her blouse, she shuddered.

Although she and Wally had done this before, and quite a few of the girls she had worked with had done this sort of thing almost daily back in her earlier years, a part of Kuki still felt scandalous. This had been a place of work for her for nearly four years. Roughly a year ago she could hardly have imagined she would do such a thing in the same place where she had seen other students surviving on Power Bars and water bottles as they pulled down various books for their classes. She and the other library docents had hauled carts through here to restack returned books and confirm that the all-powerful Dewey Decimal System was being respected. They had pulled down reference tomes to scan documents for professors, or for students who wanted their own hard copies and were willing to pay for the time, effort and materials needed to make scans.

Now she was using her knowledge to use her former workspace as a hook-up spot like some horny teenager. It was scandalous, improper, and dangerous - and thinking about it like that was making her want to do so much more than she had initially intended.

Kuki allowed one of her hands to let go of Wally's head and ran it down over his pants to stroke against the surface and get a sense of the shape underneath. She could feel a swelling beneath and decided to grip his waist and press herself against that swelling mass. She felt him throbbing against her, and could feel her own aforementioned "wetness" beginning to soak her underwear. Despite the discomfort of dampness and temperature, she found the pleasure of pressing herself against Wally made up for it.

Kuki had no plans for them to actually have sex here. She also thought it unlikely that Wally would take things too far since she had learned that he could be even more shy than she was about public displays of affection. Even so, the thrill of the intense foreplay was too good to stop. Since she only intended to be back here with him for a few minutes she felt no need to slow down or pace herself. They had a need for this contact, so they might as well enjoy all that they wanted.

Wally was keeping an ear open and occasionally his eyes flitted to the sides in case he could spot someone through the books coming down the corridors. Kuki knew he nearly always tried to remain aware of others in case they could be caught out. That did not mean he was neglectful of his part in their activities. He took his lips away from hers and used his chin to tug on her blouse until it dipped so low that her bra was exposed. Then he proceeded to administer fierce kisses to the tops of her breasts. She breathed deeply and then gasped and sighed when his kisses became playful bites. He scraped at her skin with his teeth in a way that was equal parts pain and pleasure, then attended to each scrape and light scratch with a dab of his tongue and kissed away the extra moisture to prevent a hickey from forming. She gripped the back of his neck to encourage him to continue this sweet torture while she moved her hands along his back and arms to enjoy the feel of him shuddering at her touch.

The faint stubble of his chin prickled her skin, and the tip of his nose pressed gently but firmly into her chest. When that nose began to quest deeper into her cleavage, his hands began to trail up behind her neck and down her back to massage her sensuously. With his nose pinched between her breasts, Wally had to take deep breaths through his mouth to avoid passing out, and his hot breath against her skin made Kuki's heart race. She ground herself into him, rocking her pelvis in a way that massaged them both below their respective waists. When his nose slipped under her bra and grazed the edge of one nipple, Kuki's knees almost buckled, and she felt ready to slide down into the book stack with him on top of her and really turn up the heat.

She steadied herself by biting her lip, taking a deep breath and delivering a sharp internal admonition to herself.

You're still in public... You're still in public...

Her deep breathing had the effect of puffing up her chest, and Wally took the opportunity to press his face against her that much more. It was hard for him to breathe when both his mouth and nose were against her skin, but when he felt her squeezing him closer, it felt like he must be doing something right. She gripped the hair on the back of his head and felt tears in her eyes as she strained not to scream out from the pleasure she felt at all of this contact.

Wally turned his head and used his tongue to lightly tease her other nipple. It was cramped for him, especially with her bra in the way, but feeling her strain against him even harder was a welcome reward. More than that, he found her scent to be absolutely intoxicating and was happy to smother himself in it. Kuki clenched her jaw and pressed her lips against his head so that if she suddenly let out a gasp, it would be absorbed against his scalp and not attract any attention. It also put her nose above his head and left her free to imbibe that mesmerizing, masculine scent right off of him.

Kuki had found that Wally's scent, particularly around his head, was like catnip to her, but she was only able to smell it quite rarely due to him being slightly taller than her. It was at moments like these, when he leaned in close and she pulled him to the right place beneath her nose, that she could inhale deeply. It was a very sensuous act, and she inhaled the scent like a rich perfume.

When at last Wally pulled back his head to catch his breath, she only allowed him three inhales before she craned forward to kiss him again. He all but lifted her off the ground and into his embrace, and she thought that she would melt. His hands under her blouse continued to caress her skin, and one slid under her bra in the back. After the stimulation of his kisses and caresses she was sorely tempted to undo the clasp in order that he might proceed to yet more amorous activity. Once again she retained just enough knowledge of her immediate surroundings to know that this place was still too public to allow either of them to disrobe to that extent.

When he finally set her down and they broke for air she half considered bagging it and going back to one of their apartments to make love - or at least to his car where they could lie down in the back and remove just enough clothing to allow for some activities that were almost as exciting, if less risqué, than outright sex. Her blood was up, and from the dilation in his pupils he seemed eager to take things further as well.

They still had work to do however, and needed to focus. Once she had caught her breath she straightened her clothes, ran her fingers through her hair, and gave him one last peck on the lips before she walked out of the stacks. He followed not fifteen seconds behind.

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Back at the table they returned to their work with more sated appetites and a better focus on the tasks ahead.

They were able to keep it up for another two hours before they started paying more attention to each other than their studies again. This time Kuki started stealing more glances at Wally, and he began to snap his eyes to hers in a playful manner that made her jump in her seat and try to go back to her reading. It never lasted though, and she repeatedly found herself looking over at him.

Wally decided that since Kuki had been the one to suggest a break the first time, now it was his turn. He carefully looked over one shoulder and then the other. Seeing that there was no one else in the hall who would mind him tapping on his desk, Wally tapped the table a few times with his finger tip and the full phalanx to distinguish short and long signals. It was less exact than other forms of Morse code, but it worked for when he and Kuki could not touch one another.

Tap, Long

Long, Long, Tap

Tap, Long

Tap, Tap

Long, Tap

He rattled it off another couple of times to make sure Kuki had enough iterations to figure out what he was saying. Even without translating, the look he was giving her said it all. Kuki responded with a blush, a demure smile, and the same hand sign gestures from before to indicate how she was feeling physically from receiving his attention. It was the same as earlier, and she was interested in a break too.

This time, while Kuki walked back to the stack, Wally took a more circuitous route, stopping by the bathroom to wash his hands thoroughly before he made his way over to intersect with her. The delay made Kuki a little annoyed, but that feeling evaporated the moment he got to her. This time he was bolder, cradling her head in his hand as he kissed her deeply, and running his hand not against the surface of her pants as she had for him, but under her belt line and into her underwear. Kuki's eyes went wide to feel his hand against her bare skin in such a private area, but she was so excited by it that she simply held onto him and waited to see what he would do.

Wally had learned that while he certainly enjoyed it when Kuki touched him or had sex with him, he found it even more thrilling when he did something to her that produced obvious and pleasurable responses. He had learned that subtle touches in sensitive areas that built into bolder and firmer contact seemed to be the best way to get such a response from Kuki. He had already done a great deal with her breasts earlier, now he felt it was important to give some more attention to her other erogenous zones - especially since it was likely to produce the responses he wanted, and because she herself had signed to him that she was particularly W-E-T.

By trial and error Wally had also learned that he needed to keep his fingernails short if he was ever to use his hands to make contact with Kuki in any of her sensitive zones. His fingers often had calluses from his martial arts, but thorough hand washing could hide much of the rough surface when making contact, which was why he made sure to wash his hands before such activity. He had also been good enough to keep his nails reasonably trimmed so he would not scratch her.

He stroked the skin between her legs, feeling that it was indeed somewhat W-E-T; some perspiration and other moisture had accumulated and it made running his fingers over the area much easier. He kissed her and massaged her tongue with his own while out of sight his fingers toyed at her other pair of lips in her pants. As he ran his fingers across her opening again and again she began to jerk and convulse at the feel of his fingers sliding over the slick regions. Her breathing hitched and she broke the kissing to look him in the eye as her pupils dilated. He kept his gaze firm as his fingers danced across her opening and grew ever wetter. He teased at the swelling inner lips that were soaking his hand, and brushed ever so gently at the opening where that moisture came from. She jerked each time he touched it.

When his fingers were coated in her moisture, he drew them closer to her front and toyed near the firm bundle of nerves near her opening. When he laid one finger on the bundle and began to press and shake, Kuki gripped Wally's head with her hands and gasped sharply before biting her lip as if she were about to scream. Her breathing came even quicker and the look in her eyes made him think she was ready to either fight or run... though he had learned that in an instance like this there was a third meaning, and he was pleased to see that he was bringing this out in her.

He curled his fingers carefully to put more pressure on the nerve bundle and felt her hips buck to create more friction. Her arousal was arousing him and he felt his pants getting tighter and his own breath getting shallower as he induced these responses in her. He pressed his whole hand against her and she opened her mouth in a silent scream, though she was working hard to prevent gasping loudly.

Wally was sorely tempted to strip off her pants and start using more than just his hands in that area where she was so sensitive. He wanted to see her eyes roll in the back of her head, he wanted to see her lose control in his arms and feel all of her body and its responses to his contact.

It took what felt like a near-Herculean will to stave off going through with that desire.

In the paper sheet forest, he told himself.

Even a semi-private section of the library was not the place to do all that he wanted. More than that, he also knew that doing any more of this same activity to her - or the more aggressive acts he had in mind - would end up causing the pleasures they felt to shift to a strong sensation that was almost painful unless they could be in a private place to work it all out of their systems.

So he stopped, but remained resolved that once he got somewhere more private with her he was going to see these beginning stirrings come to a glorious fruition.

He kissed her one last time and drew his hand out of her pants. Once his hand had cleared she took a few moments to catch her breath, but then kissed him again to make it clear that she had enjoyed it. She walked out of the stacks and back to the table while he made for the bathroom to wash his hands of the moisture on his hands before returning to her at the table.

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An hour later, Kuki decided she had studied enough and needed to call it a day.

As she was getting up she looked over to see Wally packing up as well. When their eyes locked she did not feel any need to look away in embarrassment. She was still feeling amorous, and by his expression she could tell that he was to.

"I could eat." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Me too." She replied, though honestly she was thinking about more than food.

There was a smoldering look in his eyes and she utterly failed to keep back a smile as she thought about what she might be in for back at either his apartment or hers. Whatever it was, she intended that he would be equally overtaken in the ensuing activities.

"Well, how about we get some bento and finish up at my place?" She offered.

"Sure, I'll drive." He offered in return.

They walked out of the hallway and into the atrium where Kuki saw the same young librarian seated at the front. The younger girl saw Wally walking in step with Kuki, and gave a look to her more senior coworker that made Kuki blush again.

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And there we are. I will probably do some rewriting again, but for the most part I think this arc has run its course. It was meant to be light and fun, and it drew from some of my own experiences, but now is probably a good time to hang it up.

Thanks to everyone who read and commented.