ooc; a bit short, not sure where jia lives / how it's laid out so i'll let you fill in the blanks. feel free to godmode ling into the apartment

Ling blushed, but a grin spread across her face. "Oh, really?" she asked, her tone teasing. "For purely innocent, wholesome purposes, I'm sure."

The streets were mostly empty now, and traffic had resumed to its normal state. It wasn't long before a taxi appeared, and Ling flung her arm out to flag it down. She opened the door for Jia to climb in first, then slipped in after her. She made a mental note of the address Jia rattled off to the driver — surely she could afford a small bouquet of flowers in a few days — and draped her arm around Jia's shoulders as they sped off toward their destination.

Once they were there, Ling let Jia lead the way, her grin growing wider and wider with each step. She hadn't particularly expected this to be the end of the night, but she had certainly hoped.

Jia winked. "Of course. I never do anything that isn't innocent and…what was the other word? Wholesome? Yep. I'm always that. I am the most wholesome person you'll ever meet." Jia burst out laughing at her own words, how hollow they sounded. Pure and wholesome were such boring things to be. It was much better to have as much fun as possible with whoever would join her. Clearly she had Ling's interest piqued; now she just had to show Ling as good of a time as Ling had shown her so far.

Ling hailed them a taxi, and Jia got in with a small measure of difficulty—her dress, while pretty, was not the most movement-friendly garment in the world. She managed, though, and after she gave the driver her address they were on their way to her apartment. She shifted closer as Ling draped an arm around her shoulders, leaning into the contact. "I could get used to this."

Soon they had reached their destination, a small apartment complex right by the docks. From the doorstop she could see the bay. As always, the colossal statue of Avatar Aang dominated the skyline of Yue Bay, lit from below by several spotlights. Nearby sat Air Temple Island, its buildings twinkling with warm golden lights of their own. The air was filled with the scent of salt water. Jia breathed deeply, smiling lazily. "I love living here. Nothing against those living further in the city, of course." Her nose wrinkled. "But there's just too much going on down there, all the time. I like partying as much as the next girl, but it can be nice to get away, sometimes, you know?" She grinned at Ling, eyeing her up and down. "Especially with such a hot date."

Digging around in the pocket of Ling's coat, she retrieved her keys, opened the front gate of the complex, and led the way upstairs to her apartment. She stuck the key in the door lock, then turned back to Ling. "Um…" she coughed. "I should warn you…I'm not the, um, the cleanest person in the world. The place isn't a pig sty or anything, and I did clean a bit yesterday before coming to your place, but just…yeah, just thought I should let you know about that." Blushing slightly, she turned the key in the lock and opened the door.

The apartment was not large, just big enough to fit two occupants comfortably. The front room contained a couch large enough to seat three, which she and her roommate had shoved against the wall on the left. The couch was in less than pristine condition, bearing some suspicious stains and leaking its fluffy innards from a couple holes. Jia had found the thing one day down by the docks, and had strong-armed one of her coworkers into helping her drag it home. Her roommate had been less than enthusiastic about it, but couldn't argue that she'd saved them money. So the couch stayed.

A coffee table stood in front of the couch, and an end table next to it, on which sat their phone. Across the room, separated by a low wall, was the seldom-used kitchen. She was no cook, and her roommate wasn't home enough to make use of the space. Two doors stood out from the far wall: her room and her roommate's, with the bathroom contained in-between. That was a less than ideal situation, to be sure. Nothing worse than having to pee really badly and finding the door locked while your roommate took a shower. That had led to some tense moments.

Most concerning, though, were the piles of various things spread throughout the space. A pile of clothes—all hers—sat on the floor by the couch. Mail lay scattered on the kitchen table, and in the sink was a small collection of dirty dishes. She'd been meaning to wash them, but just hadn't so far. Chores were just so boring!

Jia looked over at Ling, her face hot. "So…this is it." She raised an arm to point to the far door on the left. That one's my room." And it was messier than out here, by far. "But we can get to that if we get to it. So…" She shifted awkwardly; it had been a while since she'd brought a woman home. "D'you want a drink, or something?"

The state of Jia's apartment didn't phase Ling at all. Truth be told, it was her mother and Mei-zhen who kept their home neat and tidy. If left to her own devices, Ling was certain her abode would end up much the same.

"Looks cosy," she said with a grin. She meant it, too. It had a sort of lived-in look, rather than the sort of stage display that her house usually had — baring family get togethers and special occasions.

Jia pointed out her bedroom and her face looked a little flushed. Ling turned down the drink with a shake of her head and a big, overexaggerated, fake yawn. She stretched her arms out dramatically. "Nah I'm t-i-i-i-i-i-ired. The bedroom's this way, you say? I could use with a bit of a lie down." She made a big show of yawning and stretching and shuffling as if she were absolutely exhausted. Opening the far door on the left, Ling let out a little "oh" of mock surprise.

"A bed! Imagine that."

With a laugh she reached out for Jia's hand. "Shall we?"

Ling didn't seem disgusted by the state of her apartment. That was a relief. Of course, Ling could just have been hiding her true feelings to spare Jia the embarrassment. But Ling didn't seem like that kind of person. And really, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Her unusual and unexpected cleaning spree yesterday had helped a lot. Were she a responsible adult, she might take that as a sign that she should clean more often. But that would be silly.

Jia laughed at Ling's exaggerated movements toward her bedroom. She followed Ling over to the door, and winced a bit as it opened to reveal her room. It was messier in there than the front room. Clothes lay scattered on the floor, and her bed was unmade, the sheets in a tangle.

As far as decorating went, she kept it pretty simple. There were a few posters on her walls, all advertising probending matches or specific teams. The only stand-outs in her room were the pottery. Every hard surface, from the end table next to her bed, to the desk she never used, to the windowsill, had at least one piece of pottery on it, all bearing similar designs.  Truth be told, she wasn't actually that fond of her mother's flowery, bright art style. But, if her parents ever came to visit her here in the city, it would make her mother happy to see her work like this. So Jia kept the pots.

Jia grinned as Ling offered her hand. She took it. "Straight to the point. I like that." She stepped toward the bed, then turned, and in a somewhat fluid motion fell back onto the bed, pulling Ling down on top of her. She gave Ling a moment to orient herself, then tilted her head up for a kiss.

"I hope you're not too tired. Would be a bit of a dull ending to this date if you just fell asleep on me."

ooc; i think we can fade to black here!

Jia pulled her down and they tumbled into the bed. Distractedly, Ling thought it was for the best that the bed hadn't been made yet. Jia tilted her head up for a kiss, and Ling happily obliged.

"Oh I don't know!" she said teasingly. "Maybe I'll just fall asleep right now!" She dropped her head onto Jia's chest and let out a big fake snore. Then she laughed, a crooked grin on her face.

"I had a lot of fun tonight." Ling ran her thumb over the cusp of Jia's ear. It was so soft, and she was nothing if not a tactile person. "I don't remember the last time I had this much fun in general, nevermind on a date." She leaned down a kissed Jia softly on the lips.

She sat up and shrugged off her woollen blazer. "I think we could have more fun less encumbered, however." With a laugh she kicked off her shoes and helped Jia with her... accessories.

—

Sometime later amidst a tangle of sheets and discarded garments, she looked up at Jia's ceiling with a satisfied smirk. Jia's head rested in the crook of Ling's elbow, snuggling close. It was good that the nights were still fairly cool, because Ling was certain they could've caught something on fire otherwise.

"You know," she murmured, eyelids suddenly feeling heavy. "I don't think I'm going to make it back home tonight."

The kiss was fabulous, as all the others they'd shared had been. Ling laughed as she pretended to fall asleep on Jia's chest, and, close as they were, the tremors of her laughter shook Jia too.

Jia shivered a bit as Ling ran a thumb over her ear, the contact very much appreciated. "I had a great time too." Jia smiled, her lips curving up against Ling's. "You really went all out. Next time, I'll have to do something just as fancy. Can't let you plan all the surprises."

Jia sat up to help as Ling removed her blazer, before focusing on her own attire. The cheongsam she wore was a tight fit, and even harder to get out of than it had been to put on. But, given her more than sufficient motivation, she managed it.

—

By the time they settled back down, Jia was well and truly exhausted. She was already sweaty, and staying close to Ling didn't help, but the physical contact was absolutely worth it. She yawned as Ling spoke.

"Was I that bad that you were planning on leaving right away?" Teasing was difficult while drowsy. "Don't worry about it; you can stay here. My roommate's out of town for the New Year, so I've got the place to myself right now. You can stay here as long as you like. I'll definitely appreciate it."