A/N: So it has been some time since my last updat (yet again)... And I'm sorry for that. Part of it was having no idea what to write about next, part of it was simply having no time to write at all. So my special thanks for this chapter goes out to MadTay for giving me the idea to give some insight in the lives of some other characters. Enjoy reading!

It was a quiet rainy Sunday afternoon. Wind blew the fallen leaves down the street and no one wanted to venture outside. Even the popular tea room The Jasmine Dragon was devoid of customers and Zuko was given the afternoon off by his uncle. Having done all his homework, Zuko had decided to call Jin if she would like to come over. Now they were sitting together on the couch, watching a series Jin was a huge fa of.

"You have to watch this" she said. "Once you start, you can't stop. It is really addicting"

"What is it?" Zuko asked bemused.

"It's a cartoon, called Avatar; the last airbender" Jin put the DVD in the player and started it up.

Avatar? Why does that sound familiar? Zuko wondered. Then he remembered Aang's story on Ember Island. "Is it about people who can bent the elements?" he asked Jin.

Jin looked at him with a surprised expression on her face. "Yes. How did you know?"

"A kid from school is a fan as well. He told the story of the Avatar" Zuko shrugged. "To be honest, I didn't really understand it. But that could be because Aang kept skipping parts to get to the end"

"Then you have to watch this" Jin stated. "It will all become clear" with that, she pushed play and snuggled up to him on the couch.

Zuko watched silently, more enjoying feeling Jin's body against his than having to watch the cartoon. Still, for Jin he made an effort to watch without judging. Even so, he couldn't keep himself from commenting. "Jeesh that guy has some serious anger management issues"

"That's the Fire Nation prince. He is the bad guy in the first season, but he gets better and eventually joins the Avatar"

"When he turns his back on his father and his nation, right?"

"Yes. Now, be quiet, I want to watch the rest"

Zuko shut his mouth and endured the rest of the upcoming episodes. He liked Jin, he wanted her to like him, and so he gave her what she wanted. Even if it bored him out of his mind. Instead, he busied his mind with conjuring up a sketch of Jin's face. What she would look like on paper.

"So, what do you think?" Jin asked as she stopped the DVD.

"It's nice" he told her. He didn't even know what had happened in the last episode.

"Shall I put the next episode on?" Jin asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Inwardly Zuko sighed deeply. He liked Jin, wanted to make her happy, but he didn't think he could stand to watch another episode. "I tell you what" Zuko said. "How about you watch another episode and I will do some sketching?"

Jin's face fell. "You don't like it?"

He had to be honest now. "It doesn't hold my attention, no. I'm sorry"

"But you don't mind me watching further?"

"No! You like it, you should do something you like…" he trailed of.

Jin raised her eyebrows. "But?"

"But… I would like to do something I like too. Which is sketching" he looked at her, unsure what to say next.

She gave him an impish grin. "Well then, great artist. Get out your supplies and sketch away"

"You're ok with that?"

Jin leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Yes, I am" she whispered against his skin.

Zuko turned his head to brush his lips against hers. She leaned in further, deepening the kiss. First slowly, but then more passionate. The kiss went on and on. Zuko sank back against the couch, pulling Jin on top of him. The feeling of her lips on his, of her body pressed close, it made him giddy. She was an amazing kisser. Why hadn't he noticed that before? They had kissed before. Certainly not like this, but still, why was he figuring this out only now?

Jin was the one to break the kiss. She looked down at him, her face flushed. "Where have you been all my life?" she asked only half-jokingly.

Zuko blinked up at her. No one had ever said something like that to him. It made him feel warm inside, a feeling he had only rarely felt. He pulled her head down again to kiss her even more ferociously. That way he wanted to let her know how she made him feel. After a while, it could have been seconds, it could have been hours, he left her lips and travelled to her soft and pulsing throat. He heard Jin suck in a breath and slowly release it. He smiled to himself. Proud he could do that to her. He stayed there, kissing, licking and softly sucking, even when his body told him to go further. He still had enough of a clear head to know that going further wouldn't be the right thing to do. He knew that his hormone filled teenage body didn't agree with his rational mind at all, but it was too soon. He liked Jin, clearly desired her, but he didn't know her well enough to want to take the next step. If she would even want that.

He pulled back and looked up at her face. She was even more flushed than before and his body registered how desirable she looked with her eyes closed like that.

She slowly opened her eyes. "Why did you stop?" she asked in a breathy voice.

Zuko chuckled at her reaction. But then he looked in her eyes and turned serious. "I don't want to rush things between us" he brought up his hands and stroked her arms consolingly. "This, us, is one of the few good things that happened to me recently. I don't want to ruin it by going too fast.

Jin bit her lip as she kept looking at him. Eventually she sighed "I guess you're right" she pulled away from him and moved to sit next to him on the couch without touching him. When Zuko just sat there, staring at her, she prompted him. "Are you still planning on doing some sketching? Because I'm about to change my mind on taking things slow"

Zuko grinned and got up from the couch and quickly gathered his supplies. When he sat down again Jin had already started the new episode and was watching intently.

Time went by unnoticed while Zuko sat there, sketching Jin watching TV. Sometimes she gave him a quick glance to see what he was doing. But he kept his sketchpad angled in a way that she couldn't see what he was drawing. He couldn't stand it when people wanted to see his drawings before they were finished. Especially when the sketch in question was a portrait. Then they would always complain about the size of their nose, or that their eyes were too far apart. He wasn't finished yet, so of course he would do something about it. But in his own time, not when they demanded he fix their nose now!

"Are you nearly finished?" Jin interrupted his thoughts.

He looked at her and then back at the drawing. "Almost. Why?"

"Because it's really nerve wracking when you have to sit still for so long"

"Why do you sit still?" he asked bemused.

"You're drawing me, that's why!" but she didn't seem so sure anymore. "Aren't you?"

He grinned to himself, but kept his face straight. "I have no idea what you're talking about" he made some final adjustments to the drawing. When he looked up again, she was staring at him.

"You are drawing me" it was a statement, not a question.

It took considerable more effort to keep his grin from showing. "What makes you think that?"

"Because Zuko" she stood up and slowly walked over to where he sat in his chair. "No one has looked this much at me than you have this past hour. So 'fess up and show me!" she made a grab for his sketchpad but missed.

He held the pad out of her reach as she tried to go for it again. Smiling at her antics. "A simple please would suffice you know"

She made an exasperated sound before calming down. She looked at him sweetly. "Dear Zuko, could I see your drawing? Please?"

"I'll think about it" he made a face of thinking deeply, he even went as far as to stroke his chin contemplatively.

"Pretty please?"

"The physical appearance of the please makes no difference"

"You're quoting Despicable me to me?" Jin asked ridiculous.

Zuko grinned. "Lightbulb"

Jin burst out laughing and Zuko soon joined her.

"Here" Zuko gave her his sketchpad so she could see the drawing.

Jin's eyes went wide when she saw herself depicted in so much detail. "Wow. Zuko, this is amazing! You told me you could draw, but I didn't think you were this good. You really are a great artist"

Zuko smiled at her. "Thanks" and kissed her.

"You want me to do what now?" Toph exclaimed as she looked at Aang, dripping wet in the doorway. There were things in this world that she didn't do. And going out in the rain and selling cookies was one of those things.

"But it's for a good cause! How can you say no?" Aang asked.

"Forget it Twinkletoes. I'm not gonna get soaking wet, ice cold and act like a girl-scout for anyone"

"But…"

"Of course I will help the good cause. I'll buy five boxes of coconutties, two mangopies and a box of macaroons"

"I'm not here to sell you cookies Toph" Aang stated. "I came here to see if you wanted to help"

Toph shook her head. "No can do Twinkletoes. Got the whole day planned full. Now give me my cookies"

Seeing no way to convince his friend to help him out, he gave up. "Fine, but I don't have the cookies with me. You can order them now and pay up front. For you, that will be forty dollars"

"Jeesh. What kind of charity is that? 'Help the superstar afford her privet jet'? That's a lot of money for some cookies…"

"It's for the orphanage, they need the money to fix the roof. It has been leaking for a while now, but they don't have the funds to repair it. They can barely get by as it is. So I help them out when I can"

"Whatever" Toph shrugged. "Pops!" she shouted into the house.

The click-clacking of high heels started out soft but grew louder as Toph's mother approached the front door. "What is it sweetheart? Why are you shouting"

"I need forty bucks Pops"

"Forty dollars? Whatever for?" Poppy Beifong asked bemuse.

Toph gestured to Aang. "I need to pay him for cookies. It's for a good cause"

Poppy looked at the boy in the doorway. She was clearly torn between being polite and inviting him in, and not wanting to clean up the dirty puddles of water that would surely soil her hall when she did. "What kind of good cause?"

"It's for the orphanage, to repair the roof ma'am"

"And you're here selling cookies to achieve that goal?"

"Well, actually, I came here to ask Toph is she wanted to come with me"

Poppy blinked. "That's a great idea!" she exclaimed. "Toph would love to go with you"

"No I don't!" Toph interrupted.

"Yes, she does" Poppy assured Aang. "Wait one minute, I'll get her shoes and coat and you can be on your way!" with that she briskly walked away.

"Don't listen to her Twinkletoes, I'm not going with you" Toph grumbled.

"Seems to me like she isn't giving you a choice" Aang answered as he looked over Toph's shoulder. Poppy emerged with a pair of socks, a pair of rubber boots and a raincoat in her hands.

"Here we go" with quick practiced hands she dressed her daughter. "Now, you two have fun together. And raise money for the orphanage" she almost pushed Toph out the door and shut it behind her daughter.

"What the hell? Pops! Lemme in!" Toph punched her fist on the front door. There was no response.

Aang waited patiently until she had spent her rage. "She's not going to open the door and let you back in. You know that"

Toph gave him a withering look. But her shoulders sagged in defeat. "Yeah, apparently"

"So, are you going to come with me? It's not like you have much else to do now"

"Fine" Toph grumbled.

Aang led the way as they walked through the deserted street.

"Why aren't you selling cookies here?" Toph asked as they passed the fifth drive without Aang showing any intention of going to the houses.

"These are rich people living here, they won't care about the orphanage" Aang answered.

Toph snorted. "Really, Twinkletoes? Rich people? Lots of money to spare? We'll make them care about the orphanage if we have to" she walked up the driveway of the next house. "Come on"

When they reached the front door, Aang rang the bell. After a few moments the door was opened by a woman wearing an apron.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Aang and this is Toph" Aang gestured to himself, than Toph. "And we're here today to sell cookies for the orphanage. Can we interest you in buying some?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I have to say no. My employer likes to live healthy. No kind of sweets get eating here…" she started to close the door.

"Why don't you buy some for yourself?" Toph put in before the door was closed completely. "Working in a house like this, with no sweets? A person would easily get cranky from the lack of sugar"

The woman opened the door again and stared at them. "So what do you have to offer?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Toph directed a grin to Aang.

"We have coconutties, macaroons, mango pies, caramel clumpies, minty mints and lemon cakes" Aang rattled through the inventory.

The woman thought for a moment. "I'll have a box of minty mints. But that is all"

Aang wrote down the order on his list. "That will be five dollars, would you like us to take you're number for when your order is ready? Or can we deliver anytime during next week?"

"No, I'll always be at home. You can come by any time" she gave them the required five dollars.

"Thank you so much for helping out the orphanage. Have a nice day"

As they made their way back to the street, Aang commented on the woman. "I don't think she was terribly interested in helping the orphanage. She was more scared of her employer finding out she was buying cookies"

"So? She bought cookies, that was the objective"

"No, the objective is to raise money for the orphanage" Aang disagreed.

"By selling as much cookies as possible. Twinkletoes, people are going to give you money for the cookies, not for the orphanage"

Aang frowned. "Why do you think so?"

"Because if they cared about the orphanage, you wouldn't have to sell cookies at all. They would just give you the money"

Aang thought about it. "I guess you're right. But that is really sad…"

"Not everyone is as dedicated as you are. That doesn't mean their heart isn't in the right place. Don't take it personally"

In the next house lived a young, just married, couple. They bought a batch of lemon cakes and a mango pie. Steadily, Toph and Aang made their way through the streets. It didn't really matter how polite they were, people never bought more than two boxes of cookies. If they even bothered to buy something at all.

"This is going too slow" Toph grumbled as they turned away from yet another house. "We need them to buy more. But how?"

Aang sighed. "I don't know… It's not like it is going to help to tell them more about the orphanage. It's like they have no conscious at all"

"So what will happen if we try to play on their conscious? Because they do have one, I'm sure. It's just that it isn't real for them" Toph thought for a moment. "I've got an idea. Just play along ok?" she said as she knocked on the next door. She made some adjustments to her clothes so she looked shabby and rumpled. She did the same to Aang.

"Hey!" Aang protested as she took off his signature blue arrowed hat and crumpled it in her hands before returning it. Aang couldn't complain further as the door opened and a woman with a child on her arm greeted them.

"Oh ma'am, can you spare some money for us? We're here to sell cookies for our orphanage. We've both lived there since we were born. Our parents couldn't afford to take care of us. No one has ever adopted us. But that's ok. There are very nice and loving people at the orphanage who take care of us and the others. But the building we live in is very old, and recently, the roof started leaking. Sadly, they don't have enough funds to fix it. So now we are here in the hopes that would could raise some money to help them. They have done so much for us, we want to repay them in any way we can. Will you help us? Please? It would mean so much for us and the other children" Toph pleaded like her life depended on it.

"What a beautiful baby boy" Aang put in. "He will have loving parents all his life, you are no doubt an amazing mother. There is nothing you wouldn't do for your son. Can you spare some money for us so we can take care of the others back home?"

Slowly, the mother's eyes filled with tears. "Of course I'll help you. You poor dears. I'll buy cookies. What kinds do you have? I'll take five boxes of each. I can't stand to think of my Wan not having me and his father to take care of him"

Aang's eyes opened wide. "Five boxes of each? That's thirty boxes. Times five dollars a box… That is…"

"One hundred and fifty dollars" Toph filled in.

"That's a lot of money… Are you sure?" Toph stomped on Aang's foot in warning.

The woman didn't notice it and reached for her purse. "It is only a little, compared with what you're going through. It's the least I can do" she gave them the money.

"Thank you so much ma'am"

"You have helped to brighten our future and that of our brothers and sisters with your contribution"

After the woman had shut the door both of them kept staring at it.

"Wow" Toph said.

"What just happened?" Aang asked.

"We sold thirty boxes of cookies"

"No one has ever bought so much. I wonder what she'll do with that amount of cookies?"

"Does it matter? It worked didn't it? She didn't buy the cookies for the cookies, she bought the cookies for the orphanage"

"I'd say so"

They walked over to the next house in the street.

"I've got another idea" Aang said. "Let me do this one"

As soon as the middle aged man opened his front door Aang spoke up. "Please sir, I'm here to raise money for the orphanage where we live. I am selling cookies to raise enough money to fix our roof. You see sir, recently the roof started leaking and with the weather like this everything in our rooms get drenched. My friend here was even more unfortunate. She was sleeping when the water started leaking through. But it wasn't just water. Plaster from the ceiling and walls were mixes through it. And in the process of a couple of days her eyesight went bad. Until eventually, she was completely blind. There was nothing we could do to stop it. It might be too late for her, the doctors say she'll never see again. But it's not too late for the other children living at the orphanage. If you can help us raise enough money, we could fix the roof, and the orphanage would be that much safer to live. Can you spare some money to buy some cookies, so we can sleep safely and dry in our beds?"

The man looked sceptical at them. "I didn't know water mixed with plaster could cause blindness" he said dryly.

Aang was momentarily lost, but recovered himself. "Neither did we. But she is blind now"

Toph sighed, this wasn't working. "Come on, let's go. He doesn't believe us" she extended her hand to somewhere where Aang was not. "Can you help me down those stairs? I don't think I can do it on my own…" she added miserably.

Aang took her hand and started helping her down the three steps leading up to the front door. "You're right. Let's go home and get you dry. You don't need a cold on top of everything that has happened. He looked up at the man in the doorway. "I'm sorry for wasting your time. We're just trying to help. We'll go now"

"Wait" the man called out before they reached the last step. "What kind of cookies do you sell?"

Aang made a show of making sure that Toph would be able to stand on her own before ascending the steps again. "We sell lemon cakes, coconutties, caramel clumpies, macaroons, mango pies and minty mints. They're five dollars a box"

"I'll take six boxes of caramel clumpies"

Aang wrote it down on his list. "That will be thirty dollars please"

The man gave him a fifty dollar bill. "Keep the rest, make sure no one else loses their eyesight"

"Thank you sir. It is much appreciated. We will thank you at dinner tonight and all the nights to come"

And so the afternoon went by. The stories they told to sell more cookies got more extravagant with each house they passed. At the end they were soaked to the bone and unable to feel their frozen toes anymore. But when they were back at Toph's house, warming themselves on the hot cups of coco Poppy had made them, they were proud of themselves. Their sales had grown larger than in Aang's wildest imaginations.

"Next time I have to raise money for something, you're coming with me" Aang said.

Toph snorted. "Forget it, Twinkletoes"

A/N: It is not too obvious that I am a fan of despicable me, is it? I thought it would be funny to incorporate some of my favourite things in the movie with my storie. Please don't hate me for it. :P I hope you liked this chapter. I've already started on the next chapter and my hope is to upload it sometime next week. As always, R&R to let me know what you think. Also, if you have an idea for what should happen next, don't hesitate to say so, input is always appreciated.