A/N: Okay, I had a lot of requests for a follow-up on Prince Sparkle Glimmer. I made it into a oneshot, but it made more sense to include it in this collection, which means less effort for readers... however, I couldn't really fit it to a prompt, so the beginning of this chapter is a prompt-fill, and after it, is the oneshot "Of Paws and Princesses" as a little bonus.


(Theme Fifty-Nine) Rain

(As Prompted By) Aya Rose

Azula has her first wet dream in a tent.

It is awkward, complicated and confusing, and she is just gloriously happy she is not a boy, because that would take much more explaining if Mai and Ty Lee saw. She is also fortunate in that Mai and Ty Lee are asleep when she wakes. But her cheeks flush the shade of the Fire Nation flag when she sees that her legs have wrapped themselves around the subject of her dream as she slept, and she panics, not even thinking about untangling them at first.

The fact that Azula is wrapped around Ty Lee after her dream, her hips snug against her companion's skin, has left her in shock and horror. The crush seeping into her dreams where she cannot control those... thoughts and feelings, has left her quite scared.

She does not notice the rain pounding on the red canvas as she stares at Ty Lee. The rain was in her dream, soaking through her clothes, pressing cold against her bare skin. Cold like the night, and Azula is certain her dream is caused by Ty Lee begging her desperately to dry her with her bending after she and Mai's dip in the river after fighting the water peasants.

Azula needs to be focusing on capturing Zuko. Uncle is wounded, the Avatar cannot be far from here. But instead, her brain wants to live in sexual fantasies about her best childhood friend. Puberty is horrible and should be outlawed.

As she tries to free herself, made uncomfortable by the relative dampness, Ty Lee wakes up. Azula, at that moment, wants to set the tent on fire to escape instead of look her directly in her eyes after dreaming about doing such unsavory things with her.

"Azula," Ty Lee says warmly, studying the princess closely. And Azula is struck by the thought that in her dream, she had imagined her hands slipping over the girl so innocent grinning at her, feeling her hardened nipples and...

"I have to get water," Azula stammers, diving out into the rain. She is covered in disgusting Earth Kingdom mud within a few moments, but she needed to escape.

There is nothing more humiliating than waking up with your wet legs wrapped around the subject of your wet dream. And now she is wet with rain, soaking through her clothes. And she sees behind her eyes Ty Lee's hands brushing over her naked body through her clothes, feeling her, and how good they were against her skin.

And then someone grabs Azula's slippery arm, shielding her head from the rain with some loose paper.

"Where are you running to?" Ty Lee asks softly, looking Azula up and down. The princess averts her eyes. Ty Lee is silent for a moment. "Did I do something wrong? You look mad at me?"

"It is nothing of your concern," Azula says coldly, trying to keep her voice as detached as possible.

"You can be honest," Ty Lee prods, touching Azula's wrist. Azula tries to ignore the arousal that such a basic and innocent touch brings to her. "I... I felt you wrapped around me. Is that why you were mad? Because, if this isn't out of line, and I probably shouldn't say this to the princess, but... it felt pretty good. You were very warm..."

"I..." Azula hesitates. She supposes she has nothing to lose from honesty, even if it is something she does not usually indulge in. "I had a... dream about you. A... sex dream."

Azula instantly regrets what she says. Her heart leaps into her throat as she realizes that this is definitely not something you tell your crush. It is just short of telling them that you masturbate with them in mind, which Azula makes mental note to never let herself do, no matter how soaking and cold she is in the rain or how strange her situation is.

"Was I good?" is Ty Lee's only question.

Princess Azula is stunned by that reaction. She certainly did not expect it.

"Yes, you were quite good," Azula whispers, and she sees Ty Lee's lips moving towards hers.

They kiss there, kissing in the rain, the cold water making their bodies so exposed. Azula feels almost naked, her hips pressed against Ty Lee's.

The long, tender kiss in the rural Earth Kingdom.

Reality, Azula decides, is far better than her dreams.


And...


Of Paws and Princesses

... The Adventures of Prince Sparkle Glimmer the Fire Nation Fire Ferret ...


"What do fire ferrets eat?" Mai asks, her chin on the table that Prince Sparkle Glimmer is perched on. Her amber eyes are locked with his glistening yellow ones. "I mean, Azula has made it clear that pythanacondas eat fire ferrets. But what does he eat?"

Iroh just shrugs and Zuko sighs.

"Uncle, you didn't ask the pet shop owner? Or buy a guide?" Zuko inquires, rubbing his temples.

"I should've probably just gotten the lizards." Iroh strokes his beard as Mai continues to stare at the strange beast. "Lizards are easy to care for. Or a cat, they take care of themselves pretty much..."

Zuko sighs at his uncle's ramblings and reaches his hand around the breakfast table, trying to find something that looks like what a fire ferret would eat.

"... berries? Do you like berries?" Zuko shoves them towards Prince Sparkle Glimmer, who sniffs for a moment, and then puts one into his mouth. It clearly is distasteful, as he spits it up onto the table and struts over to Izumi, whom pats him on the head.

Azula and Ty Lee then walk into the room, not drowsy in their pajamas, but entirely dressed and made-up. And clutching shopping bags.

"We took the liberty of stopping by the exotic pet shop in the Yunnan District," Azula purrs haughtily, looking at her family and the laziness that Iroh seems to have imparted onto him. "Prince Sparkle Glimmer," Azula says sharply and he turns to face her.

"Aww, he knows his name," Ty Lee coos, bouncing from foot to foot.

Azula withdraws bamboo and mulberry leaves from a small cloth bag labeled with those plants. Prince Sparkle Glimmer runs away from Izumi and attacks the bag, clearly starving half to death. Azula smirks smugly at her accomplishment as Zuko sighs and Iroh smiles at her.

"They also eat household pests and birds, so I assume we can set him loose in the courtyards," Azula says with a small shrug. She pats Prince Sparkle Glimmer on the head, scratches under his chin, and then he seizes her hand, pressing it to his chest and refusing to let go as she shrieks in horror.

Zuko chuckles and Mai's lips twitch with a satisfied smile.

"Azula, he wants you to be his mommy," Ty Lee says and Azula's eyes widen as she tries to shake the creature of her. But its sharp claws only dig deeper into its skin.

"Mother, please adopt him!" Azusami shouts from the other side of the room, entirely abandoning her breakfast that she ordered servants to remake at least ten times. "I want him to be my brother!"

"No!" Izumi shouts, as Azula is still trying to gently pry the clinging fire ferret off of her skin. "He's going to be my brother!"

"He's not holding your mother!" Azusami shrieks at her cousin, whom only scowls in return. Then Azusami hesitates and glares at her gilded plate for a moment. "We're basically sisters, anyway."

Izumi smiles, her tears drying instantly. Zuko would find it adorable, if it weren't for Azula murmuring obscenities and tugging on a very determined fire ferret.

Iroh just chuckles at the entire scene.

xXxXx

After being fed, it seems that Prince Sparkle Glimmer has decided upon his mother. And she is not enthused. Azula still was not able to pry off Prince Sparkle Glimmer, and so she is now holding him to her chest like a baby.

"He thinks you're his mommy," Ty Lee squeals, poking its ear and then blushing. Azula looks at the claws dug into her skin as Prince Sparkle Glimmer tries to force himself into her clothes. "That's so cute, oh, Azula."

Zuko snorts, finding this beyond hilarious. Azula's look of horror as her new fire ferret baby clings to her and tugs at her shirt is possibly the funniest thing he has ever seen in his life. Mai shakes slightly with silent giggles as Izumi scowls at her pet paying so much attention to her aunt.

Azula just sighs and accepts her fate. Eventually, the two children tire of Prince Sparkle Glimmer and the sun dips far below the horizon, the moon rising.

"Alright, Prince Sparkle Glimmer is going to sleep now," Azula says, relieved to be rid of him, carrying the fire ferret towards the little nest Izumi set up for him with Iroh's help. But he does not let go. Azula yelps in pain as she tries to pry his claws from her skin.

"He can sleep with us," Ty Lee says warmly, poking Prince Sparkle Glimmer's nose.

"... no," is Azula's forceful response. "Because he sleeps in our bed once, he thinks he can sleep in there every night. And there are things we do in our bed that this little creature should have no part in."

"Azuuuuuuuuuula..." Ty Lee whines, bouncing from foot to foot.

"No." Azula looks at Prince Sparkle Glimmer's hopeful eyes, then Ty Lee's begging grin, and then Azusami batting her eyes and sighs. "Alright, fine. Come on, you lucky little ferret."

Azula carries him to her bed and tucks him in, sitting down and sighing again.

"Pet parents," Ty Lee declares, scratching Prince Sparkle Glimmer's ears excitedly.

xXxXx

"No, he's mine!" shrieks Izumi, clutching a horrified Prince Sparkle Glimmer to her chest. Azusami has just lunged for him and he clings to Izumi for dear life with his claws.

"Nuh-uh!" squeals Izumi's younger cousin as she reaches for him again. Azusami latches herself onto Izumi's back, wrapping her arms around as much of Prince Sparkle Glimmer as she can reach. He looks even more frightened now as a four armed monster clutches him.

"Dad, get her off!" Izumi screams as Prince Sparkle Glimmer tries to burrow into her shirt. "He's mine and I'm holding him and I just started holding him!"

Zuko takes a step towards them, and then a step back. He is not touching this one with a ten foot pole. Ty Lee swoops in and snatches Prince Sparkle Glimmer out from between them, gliding like an airbender and tucking him into her clothes. The relief in his yellow eyes is evident as Izumi and Azusami continue fighting each other until they realize he is gone.

Ty Lee winks at the Fire Lord and disappears into the other room.

xXxXx

Azusami is terrified of starting school. She spent the entire night vomiting with her mothers trying to somehow console her. Azula progressively made it worse with what she thought was comforting Azusami, and Ty Lee was genuinely unsure what else to say.

The horror stories Izumi decided to tell her about the Ladies Academy certainly have not helped.

Finally, Azusami gets to sleep, and is woken in the morning by her mom, who helps her get dressed into her uniform and combs her hair, while she is still yawning. Ty Lee hands Azusami her bag, which the young princess almost forgets, and sends her off with a royal guard and her cousin.

When Azusami reaches the school, she turns to Izumi as they are escorted inside.

"My bag is... wriggling..." Azusami murmurs, suddenly convinced some kind of beast has followed her and made today even worse. "Izumi, open it!"

The guards stop in place, turning to make sure the princess is alright. Izumi scuttles around behind Azusami and opens the top of her bag. She smirks faintly and closes it.

"It's nothing," she says to the guards, and as soon as she and Azusami are dropped off into the Agni Temple that was repurposed into a morning meeting room, she takes Azusami's bag from her and gently opens it. "Look."

Azusami's golden eyes light up when she sees Prince Sparkle Glimmer has forced himself inside. He chirps at her and she grins.

Perhaps her first day of school will not be as terrible as she thought.

xXxXx

"The crown doesn't, ugh, fit," Ty Lee snarls as Prince Sparkle Glimmer sits very still. He is, Azula has to admit, easier to dress than Azusami somehow. The fire ferret has yet to try to poke out someone's eye with his crown to keep from wearing it.

"He's going to eat your face off," Azula chuckles, watching Ty Lee try to tug up his short red fur. "Then I'll be forced to divorce you."

"You do it, then!" Ty Lee snaps, thrusting the crown into Azula's hands. Prince Sparkle Glimmer starts looking around for escape.

"ZuZu," Azula croons as her brother brushes past, "help put the crown on Prince Sparkle Glimmer."

Zuko steps around the corner, his expression softening at the sight of his pet. And his childhood crown that his sister and sister-in-law are trying to force onto a fire ferret's head.

"I thought you said he would eat my face off," Ty Lee hisses as Zuko sits down and takes the crown from Azula, scratching Prince Sparkle Glimmer under the chin, to a small purring sound.

"It's not like anyone would notice if Zuko got his face eaten off," Azula replies and Zuko shoots her a murderous glare. "And then Prince Sparkle Glimmer could be Fire Lord... He'd probably be more competent."

"Azula, I am more competent than a fire ferret," Zuko grumbles under his breath as he tries to get the crown onto his pet's head. "And he's not a real prince."

"I adopt him as my child," Azula says, stroking his paw. "Is that legal? I just made it legal. Ty Lee, write that down! It is now legal for me to adopt Prince Sparkle Glimmer as my second child."

"And you didn't even want a pet," Zuko says, giving up and setting the crown down. "You love him so much."

"I am sworn to love and defend my Fire Lord," Azula replies, precariously balancing the crown on Prince Sparkle Glimmer and bowing pointedly. "It is my honor to serve you, Fire Lord Sparkle Glimmer."

Zuko rolls his eyes. "If I got half the respect of this fire ferret..."

xXxXx

"Mother," Azusami snarls after trying to get Azula's attention for two minutes, which is about a thousand years in six-year-old-time. "Mother, why do you love Prince Sparkle Glimmer more than me?"

Azula sighs, looking over at her daughter, who seems to need something the moment Azula is done with her work. Or perhaps while Azula still has plenty of work to do. She has been cooing sweet nothings to Prince Sparkle Glimmer, curled up in a small parlor out of the way of the family, and Azusami has intruded.

"I don't love Prince Sparkle Glimmer more than you," Azula replies earnestly, still stroking the fire ferret's ears.

"Then why do you pay more attention to him than me?" Azusami crosses her arms with a fierce expression. The Ozai glare.

"I don't have to answer this," Azula mutters, looking deeply into the eyes of Prince Sparkle Glimmer.

Azusami stomps her feet and exits the room.

xXxXx

Azula's knees touch her chin as she tries to stifle the sound of her sobs. She does not want anyone to know that she is crying, the tears streaming from her golden eyes.

Every night, she escapes her nightmares and there is no relief in waking. And today she had such a terrible vision that she could barely hide, could barely escape to her room and allow herself to crumble out of the sight of others.

Suddenly, her weight is displaced slightly on the bed as something small joins her. Prince Sparkle Glimmer.

"Go away. I don't have anything for you," Azula hisses, her voice constricted with emotion.

He crawls onto her lap and she does not have the energy to push him away.

And then he starts to lick away her tears, as if he can comprehend her pain.

Azula touches his back and feels the small relief that his consoling brings.

xXxXx

Azula and Ty Lee lie down, Prince Sparkle Glimmer curled up with them after a long day of playing and bouncing around and doing tricks, a life of which Azula is greatly envious. She wishes she could just do that all day instead of actually working. He nestles between them happily, as he does every night, and Azula frowns for a moment.

She thinks she has actually bonded with this little fur creature. Her fingers keep creeping to pet him, and she does not even mind being blockaded from her wife by his small body.

Ty Lee looks through Prince Sparkle Glimmer's orange fur at Azula and smiles faintly.

Azula turns over, not wanting this to turn into some sappy display of emotion. Claws touch her shoulder blades and she resigns herself to her fate.

Princess Azula, daughter of Former Fire Lord Ozai, wife of Ty Lee, mother of Princess Azusami... mother of Prince Sparkle Glimmer the Fire Ferret.

end

xXxXx


A/N: I feel so weird putting a oneshot into a chapter like this; I hope people don't mind; I just felt like I was saving the hassle of going to my profile to read a separate fic for the requested story. More drabbles coming soon.

Also: shameless promo ─ this afternoon I'm posting a new multichap Tyzula fic, The Company of Dragons, if that's anything you're interested in. It's been in the works for some time, and I'm finally releasing it.