Chapter 28 – Lesbos

They wandered the festival for two hours and heard plenty of rumors. Most of them were pretty close to the truth; Santana had been attacked but no one knew much more than that. Unfortunately, there were rumors that said she had cheated on Brittany and Brittany had assaulted her.

Santana sighed as they entered their room.

"Dammit. That rumor IS my fault."

"What?"

"I was so out of it last night I told the nurse I was in the ER because I cheated on my girlfriend. Obviously, that got leaked." She shook her head. "I will definitely be clearing that up tonight."

Sighing, she slipped off her shoes and flopped on the bed. "You joining me?"

Brittany smiled and slipped in next to her, pulling her close. Santana rolled into Brittany, half lying on the blonde and throwing one leg over Brittany's hips. Brittany kissed the top of her head.

"We know the truth, honey, I'm not worried about what a bunch of strangers we'll never see again thinks."

"Don't want anyone," Santana's sentence was interrupted by a yawn, "to think anything bad 'bout you." Her voice was becoming sleep slurred.

"Rest, my angel." Brittany whispered softly as Santana's breathing deepened and evened out.

Xoxoxoxoxo

When Santana awoke, she was alone in the bed. "Britt?"

No answer.

Santana frowned and checked her phone and saw that she had slept for about three hours. She felt a bit more awake and wandered into the bathroom to freshen up. She was considering her choice of clothing for the evening when she heard the door to the room open.

"Britt?" She called out, stepping out of the bathroom.

Brittany was standing there, hands behind her back, looking sheepish.

"I had hoped to be back before you woke up."

Santana smiled at her. "Where'd you go?"

Brittany bit her bottom lip and walked toward Santana. "Close your eyes."

Santana narrowed her eyed suspiciously but did close them.

"Open your mouth."

Santana did as she was told and was rewarded with an explosion of fudgey goodness.

"Oh. My. God. BRITT!" She swallowed the fudge and opened her eyes, smiling at Brittany.

Brittany giggled and held out a small box containing nine more pieces of the fudge.

"I wanted to make sure to get you some before we forgot."

Santana threw her arms around Brittany's neck. "Best. Girlfriend. Ever!"

Brittany laughed and put her arms around Santana's waist, careful not to tip the box of fudge.

When they released each other, Brittany placed the box on the dresser and kissed Santana's nose.

"You ready for tonight?"

"Mostly. Just trying to figure out what I want to wear."

"Go light, I'll hold onto a jacket for you for after."

Santana nodded and sifted through the dresser, pulling out a long-sleeved, purple, off the shoulder shirt and a pair of charcoal grey, slim fit jeans. The shirt would definitely allow for her bandages to be seen. She showed them to Brittany.

Brittany nodded. "Perfect."

"I figured why hide the bandages, especially since the gash is so conspicuous. And … I didn't do anything wrong, there's no reason to hide what happened."

Brittany nodded and pulled her into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

xoxoxoxoxo

At nine-thirty, Santana was backstage and talking to Petrina.

"You're okay with it if I address what happened?"

Petrina nodded. "There are a lot of rumors floating about; some are not very flattering to you or Brittany. I think, if you wish to set the record straight, then you should feel free to do so."

"Thank you."

xoxoxoxoxo

When Santana took the stage there was raucous applause, whooting, and, whistling.

She smiled brightly at the crowd. "Hey! How's everyone doing tonight?"

More applause, whoops, and hollers.

"So, I don't want to get too heavy but it seems like I need to clear some things up."

The crowd quieted somewhat, seemingly surprised that Santana was being so bold.

"As you can see," She gestured to the gash on her face and the bandages visible on her shoulder, "I had a bit of an altercation last night. I want to give you the facts and dispel some of the really awful rumors I heard earlier.

"First, and most important, Brittany did NOT do this to me. Last night, Britt and I were walking around and looking at the vendor booths. We got temporarily separated and, while we were apart, a woman grabbed me and shoved me up against a piece of fencing. I bit her, she hit me, then continued to assault me.

"I had never seen her before. I had no idea who she was. I have since learned that she had become fixated on me."

Santana sighed. She didn't like sharing shit but she wasn't going to let anyone think badly about Brittany.

"I heard that some of you are worried. This was an isolated incident. Brittany pulled the woman off me and pushed her into the arms of security. Just to clarify; the attack took less than thirty seconds and security was right there. So you have nothing to worry about.

"The rumors of my cheating were brought about because I was in shock last night and blurted out that I had cheated on my girlfriend. In my shock and pain, I thought that, because that woman had tried to kiss me and had bitten me and groped me, it meant that I had cheated on Brittany. In the light of day, once the shock wore off, I realized that it wasn't my fault; I hadn't done anything wrong. That woman chose to take something I didn't offer.

"So. There's the truth. The woman's traveling companions sought me out this afternoon and let me know that this isn't the first time she's done this kind of thing. That's all I have to say about the matter. So, let's do this!"

She did a quick guitar riff and started in on Bonnie Raitt's "Let's Give Them Something To Talk About" to get the crowd back in a playful mood.

Xoxoxoxoxo

After bringing Brittany up to sing Sonny & Cher's "I've Got You, Babe" (to the delight of the crowd), Santana spent a little time talking about nothing just to keep the crowd entertained between songs. She finished, as always, with a dedication to Brittany. As the last chords of "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" faded out, Brittany came back on stage and hugged Santana tightly.

"I love you, Santana Lopez," her voice was soft but Santana's mike picked it up.

The crowd "awwww'd" at them and Brittany felt the blush creep up her face.

Santana giggled and, not to leave her girlfriend hanging out there alone, answered her.

"I love you, too, Brittany S. Pierce."

They shared a soft kiss, waved to the crowd and headed off stage.

Brittany waited until Santana had packed up her guitar before helping her slip on a light jacket.

"What do you wanna do tonight, honey?" Britt asked, putting an arm around Santana's waist.

"Honestly? Bed. I'm beat."

"Oh, thank god." Brittany laughed. "I'm exhausted."

Santana laughed with her as they walked down the beach toward their hotel.

Xoxoxoxo

The rest of the festival passed by without incident. Most of the people who recognized them simply smiled and went about their business. A few wanted autographs. Overall, though, they were left alone.

They had decided to extend their stay until Sunday even though the festival ended on Tuesday. They had really enjoyed Lesbos (minus the assault, of course) and could see themselves coming back at some point.

On Friday, they shipped everything but their suitcases and carry-on bags back to Lima, taking extra care with Santana's guitar.

And on Sunday, they were flying out of the Mytilene airport to London.