Better With(out) You (Sequel to Second Thoughts)

Nineteen

Finally, there was a point where everyone felt like they could relax for a bit....

Christmas.

Although the day after Christmas would consist of football matches all around the country, the holiday itself was a nice few days to relax away from the pitch and spend quality with loved ones. As cliche it sounded, it seemed like it would be one of the happier Christmas times for Sarah. She had been excited as that time rolled around. She was able to enjoy going out to Manchester's Christmas Market, decorate, bake, watch movies, and anything that revolved around the holiday. It was stuff that Sarah enjoyed when she was younger, and now she felt more motivated around that time again.

For the first time in years, the holiday season brought so much light and joy to Sarah. Christmas Eve was lovely. She had traveled to Sheffield with Harry to spend the first part of the holiday with his family. To say the least, it felt much better spending this time with them than the first time she had met them. She felt so much more relaxed and welcomed, but that was partially because she wasn't hiding her relationship anymore. She was even more known now, because she was able to add being Harry Maguire's girlfriend to what she was known for in the footballing world.

Back to Christmas Eve, excuse the narrator's rambling, but Sarah absolutely enjoyed her time with the Maguire family. His mum seemed more happy to see her than she did seeing her own son. It was wonderful. It was wonderful to have a part of Christmas with some sort of family that Sarah enjoyed. With her parents gone, it was less enjoyable at Christmas time in the Stones family. They had Christmas Eve with their mum's family, and it was never ideal considering how self-absorbed that side was. Sarah didn't need to be in another toxic environment.

So on the happier note, it was wonderful for Sarah to wake up on Christmas morning next to the man who made everyday with him feel like a Christmas miracle. It was like one of those perfect wakeup scenes in a movie. Her eyes fluttered open, and she turned over to her sleeping boyfriend. Of course, the smile naturally crept upon her face as she moved closer to him. She reached her hand out and started playing with his hair just until he started to stir.

However, the sleeping giant just grunted and moved onto his back. Wowie. Sarah just shook her head and moved herself on top of him. Carefully straddling him, she leaned down and kissed him. Of course, that made his eyes open immediately. Harry smiled wide and wrapped his arms around her. "Please wake me up like that every time we're in the same bed." he told her with a yawn. Laughing quietly, Sarah laid back down and went back to cuddling him like when she fell asleep the night before. She looked up at him with a smile as he started to play with her hair.

"You didn't like when I played with your hair." she told him with a cute pouty face. "Is that so?" he asked with a cute smile. Nodding, Sarah just took one of his hands and smiled. "Yes, because you turned onto your back when I tried to wake you up like that." she explained. Harry then smirked a little and just shrugged. "Maybe it's because I knew I would like the other way more, so I didn't want to wake up yet." He suggested and caused his girlfriend to roll her eyes and poke his nose.

"Mhmm, Merry Christmas to you too." she told him. Harry's smile then got bigger as he sat up. "It really is Christmas, isn't it?" he asked. Nodding, Sarah sat up with him and smiled. "First Christmas in a long time where I've woken up happy." she pointed out. Smiling, Harry leaned in and kissed her nicely. That warmed his heart more than he could imagine. "Merry Christmas, baby girl." he told her. He couldn't help but feel ecstatic to see her smile the way she did. It was pure, and it was beautiful.

"Thank you. What's on the agenda?" she asked as she petted her kitty that laid by their feet. It only made Harry's smile grow even more again as he thought of everything he had planned. "Okay, so you know how we bought all of those gifts and wrapped them, but we left them here because we didn't know when we would be able to give all of them to said people?" he asked. Immediately, Sarah nodded and raised her eyebrows. "Yes, remind me besides my siblings." she told him.