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Korra's last memory of the Glacier Spirits Festival was... not exactly pleasant. Which wasn't surprising, given that the trip had ended up triggering a civil war, she and Mako had been fighting constantly but unable to admit they needed to break up, she'd learnt some uncomfortable truths (and fallen for some far more terrible lies) about her family, and Team Avatar had been a shattered mess.
This time, though, was different. This time, the spirits and humans were living in relative harmony, so there was minimal risk of conflict or attacks. This time, there was actual respect for the spirits involved alongside the carnival aspect. And this time, she was here with Asami, her girlfriend (Asami was her girlfriend, she would never get tired of that idea) and they – along with the rest of Team Avatar – were taking a much-needed break from life in the City.
Which meant that there was nothing to stop Korra from enjoying this to the fullest.
“Come on!” She tugged Asami's hand, eager to go and check out what the numerous booths and stalls had on offer this year, as well as to have some time alone. Since they'd arrived here yesterday morning, they'd been surrounded by people. Mako and Bolin, Opal and Wu (who were often a package deal with the other two), Korra's parents, Kya, Katara... It was great to see everyone, but it was nice to get a chance to just show Asami the festival without about five friends and family members within arm's length.
Asami laughed at Korra's enthusiasm and followed her. They walked for a little while, taking everything in. Some things were definitely... different. It had been four years, Korra supposed, but she didn't remember so much of the festival being themed around her. There had been a lot of Aang-related merch and games, but this year she saw her own face (or caricatures thereof) on a number of booths.
A big-headed cartoon Korra had even joined the ones of Aang at the water-shooting booth. Korra frowned at it.
“I do not look like that.”
Asami laughed and moved closer to her, interlocking their fingers. “That's true. You're much prettier.”
Korra felt herself blush. Even after almost a year together, Asami still had the same effect on her. She didn't think that would ever change.
“I wonder if they have anything themed around the rest of you here?”
Asami shook her head, still smiling. “I doubt it, Korra. We're all well-known, sure, but not the way you are.”
“I bet there's something! We're probably the most famous couple in the world, after all. For better or for worse.”
“Excuse me, are you Avatar Korra?”
Korra sighed inwardly. Leave it to someone to instantly prove the point. She turned to see a young woman with dark brown hair staring at her with something like hero-worship. Being looked at like that always made Korra uncomfortable, but she smiled awkwardly. “Yeah, that's me.”
“And you must be Asami Sato!” the woman added, turning to Asami with the same expression of awe.
Asami nodded, smiling.
“Wow. I can't believe you're really here.” The woman looked at Korra, her face still filled with admiration. “Can I get an autograph?”
“You want my autograph?” Korra asked slowly.
“Of course! You're my hero!”
Korra signed the scrap of paper the woman provided, feeling more than a little awkward. The stranger proffered the pen to Asami next, who took it with a who, me? expression that made Korra want to remind her of the ten million reasons why people admired her.
“Thank you so much!” the woman squealed. "I can't wait to show everyone at home!"
Korra and Asami smiled politely until the stranger left, and then turned to each other. Korra couldn't help the smug grin that spread across her face.
“What was that you were saying about people not knowing who you were?”
“Shut up,” Asami countered weakly, nudging her.
Korra looked at the next stall they were approaching and gasped. “Cotton candy! Asami, we have to get some. They barely even sell it in Republic City!”
Asami felt in the deep pockets of her coat and fished out some yuans, then approached the stall and asked for one stick of cotton candy.
“Don't you want one for your friend there?” the man behind the counter asked.
Asami smiled at him with the kind of smile that carried a hint of threat. “My girlfriend and I are happy to share, thank you.”
Korra tried to stifle her grin, joining Asami in front of the guy and taking her hand pointedly.
“Avatar Korra?” the man asked, his eyebrows drawing together.
“That's me,” Korra said, for the second time in as many minutes.
The man hastily handed over the cotton candy, then took the money from Asami, his eyes darting between them in a bewildered and slightly judgemental fashion. Korra held Asami's hand tighter and leant in to press a kiss to her cheek as they headed away. “So, my dear 'friend', where do we want to go next?”
Asami rolled her eyes. “Seriously, how do some people still not know about us? Or at the very least, guess that two women who are holding hands might not always be 'totally platonic best friends'?”
Korra shrugged, taking a bite of the cotton candy. “I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I should go around with 'I'm dating Asami Sato' tattooed on my forehead.”
Asami laughed. “Seriously?”
“What, you don't think it would look good?” Korra pouted, pretending to be hurt. “How can you be so cruel to me? I must have my revenge.”
She peeled off a piece of the cotton candy and stuck it to Asami's forehead.
“Now what do you think of that as a forehead decoration?”
“Korra!” Asami swiped it off her face, leaving behind a pale pink streak, and flicked it into Korra's hair.
“Oh, it's on, Sato. It's on,” Korra threatened, wielding the stick of spun sugar like it was a deadly weapon.
Asami ducked out of the way and they chased each other between the stalls, laughing and dodging scraps of cotton candy.
They were maybe ten booths away from the guy who'd called them 'friends' when Korra saw something that made her stop dead.
“Oh. My. Spirits.”
When Asami saw what her girlfriend was looking at, she was fairly sure her jaw actually dropped. The stall in front of them was piled high with clothes. Tank tops, tunics, leggings, shirts, dresses, skirts, jackets, fur-lined coats. There was nothing that unusual about that in principle. Except that several of the items were adorned with slogans and images, many of them embroidered, some printed using tech Asami recognised – she and Varrick had helped pioneer it.
Again, maybe nothing unusual about that, but what the slogans and pictures were... that was enough to make her wonder if this was a bizarre dream.
Hanging from the awning were several tank tops almost identical to the ones Korra wore, except that each of these was printed with a small cartoon image of her, and the slogan '#1 Avatar Fan'. On the counter were several jackets embroidered with detailed images of all the Avatars back to Yangchen, and every single one of them was giving a thumbs up. A stack of dark red tunics to the right of these bore the Future Industries logo with the caption 'engineer your own existence', which Asami guessed was an attempt at an on-brand way of saying 'forge your own path'.
And in the centre of the stall, in pride of place, was a pile of caps, each of them printed with a doodle of Korra and Asami holding hands, and the slogan 'Korrasami forever'.
“What the fuck,” Asami asked, “is 'Korrasami'?”
“Isn't it obvious?” Korra looked like she was on the verge of crying with laughter. “It's us, Asami! That must be our... couple name?”
“People. Made hats. With us on them,” Asami stated, trying to process it. She'd met plenty of people who were fans of Korra, or her, or them both, or even them as a couple, but this? This was next level. Whoever ran this stall (there seemed to be no-one currently in sight) had literally created merchandise featuring Korra and Asami (or 'Korrasami', she supposed), and saying that they wanted their relationship to last forever. Sure, maybe they weren't the only one (Asami certainly had her own hopes in that direction), but there was a difference between wanting to stay with the girl you were in love with and wanting two famous people you'd never met to remain a couple until the end of their days. And there was a huge difference between wanting that and making hats about it.
Korra was doubled over with laughter, tears in the corners of her eyes. “Asami – this is both the best and – the worst thing – I have ever – seen,” she choked. “And your face right now is priceless!” She started laughing again, and Asami had to join in. This felt like an episode in one of the comedic mover series Varrick was always going on about developing.
They stood there for what must have been at least two minutes, laughing their heads off. Every time one of them stopped, they'd catch each other's eyes or look back at the stall and that would start them off again. Korra reached out and plucked one of the hats from the counter, sticking it on her head and striking a pose. “How do I look?”
She looked both adorable and utterly ridiculous, and Asami burst out laughing again. Korra looked at herself in one of the small mirrors propped up on the counter, presumably for this exact purpose, and laughed so hard she could hardly stand upright. She grabbed onto Asami, almost knocking them both over with the hilarity of it.
“Excuse me?” someone asked. “Can I help you?”
Asami jumped, wiped the tears from her eyes and choked back her laughs. Korra still clung on to her, unable to stifle her giggles completely.
A woman who looked like she could be in her later twenties had appeared behind the counter. Like most of the other vendors, she was from the Southern Water Tribe, her dark hair cut quite short, in a style very similar to Korra's. If her stall was anything to go by, this probably wasn't a coincidence.
When Asami looked up at her, the woman's grey eyes widened. “Oh spirits! You're... it's you. Asami Sato and Avatar Korra! Here? Oh spirits!” She clapped her hands over her mouth, staring with wide eyes, and repeating the phrase “oh spirits” over and over again.
“Yeah, it's us,” Asami replied. Korra was still laughing too much to speak. “We... uh... we like your stall?” It came out like a question, because Asami had many, many questions right now.
“I'm keeping the hat,” Korra choked out, before succumbing once again. Asami was literally supporting her entire weight at this point, and still struggling to stifle her own laughter.
“This is such an honour! I'm your biggest fans! Well, as you can... probably see,” the woman blushed a little. “I can't believe it's really you! I told my wife, I said, 'if they ever turn up here, I'll eat one of the hats!' and now it looks like I'll have to do it! But can I just say, you two are so inspiring! Seeing people like us, particularly someone from the South too, being open the way you are, it helped us stand up to those who disapproved! Hearing about the Avatar being with a woman helped convince my father to be okay with our wedding! I know this probably seems a little strange to you...” she gestured around at the fan merchandise strewn across the stall. “But honestly, you really are my heroes! And not just for everything you've done for the world, but for what you've done for people like us! But I'm sorry, I've been talking incessantly, I'm sorry!”
Asami smiled. “That's all right. To be totally honest with you, I did find it a little strange when we first saw... everything,” she barely kept herself from grimacing at the images of the Avatars giving a thumbs up, “but we're really glad that our story means so much to you.”
Korra nodded, regaining some of her composure. “Yeah, we are. Say hi to your wife from us.”
“Oh, I will! I'll never let her hear the end of it, most likely,” the woman said. “She does tell me I talk too much! You can keep the hat! It's on me! Oh, I can't believe it's actually you!”
Asami drew Korra a little way away from the stall and leant close to whisper in her ear. “You're not actually keeping that hat, right?”
“Are you kidding me?” Korra grinned broadly, that twinkle of mischief in her eyes that Asami both loved and dreaded. “This is way better than a forehead tattoo! Now I can just wear this around and everyone will know I support 'Korrasami'!”
“Korra, we are Korrasami!”
“Exactly! I support us. Forever! In fact, I'm getting you a hat, too.”
Asami felt her eyes widen in horror. “Oh, no. I am not wearing that.”
Korra smirked, a smug expression on her face (again). “We'll see, Asami. We. Will. See.”