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

Twenty-Four

*TRIGGER WARNING IN THIS CHAPTER*

Something about the sunshine, baby, I'm seeing you in a whole new light.

There was something about seeing the sunshine in February, and it still blew Harry's mind that he was in sunshine. He was in the sunshine at the Real Madrid training ground. It wasn't everyday that someone on holiday got to go and train at a facility of one of the biggest clubs in football, but luckily for Harry, he had a really close connection to let him keep in shape during his time off.

He was all alone on the pitch, but it allowed him to focus on what he wasn't doing. He was almost done training when he noticed someone else enter the facility. It didn't surprise him when he saw Sergio Ramos coming towards him. The tall, tattooed Spaniard looked nervous coming towards him, and Harry could tell that he was nervous. He knew he hadn't been nice to him the other times they had met before.

Harry stopped everything he was doing and just waited until the Real Madrid and Spain captain was close enough to him. "So, you figured I'd be here." he casually pointed out. Sergio blushed a little bit and fiddled with his hands as he nodded. "I, erm, asked my sister since, you know, she's having girl time with Sarah," he pointed out before wincing a little, "you're not gonna hit me, are you?"

Confused, Harry looked at Sergio like he was nuts and shook his head. "No, I wouldn't do anything unless any harm came Sarah's way." he assured him with a bit of calmness. Sergio nodded and almost calmed down at the sincerity that came from his English counterpart. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "You're really protective of her." he then pointed out.

Of course, that was returned with a proud smile from Harry as he shrugged. "You do anything for someone you love as much I love her," he explained, before looking at Sergio a little less happily, "but if it were up to me, she wouldn't be coming for the Champions League." The words hit Sergio like a knife as the tone wasn't friendly in that statement. He knew Harry had a lot against the club with how everything with Sarah went down, and he didn't blame it, but it was almost like Harry didn't want Sarah to have the connection anymore.

"This is her home though." Sergio then stated, and it was a statement that didn't sit well with Harry. He just shook his head. "Sometimes home is toxic. Do you ever stop to think that she basically suffered from PTSD when she went back to England, or did you not know that?" Harry then asked. Stunned, Sergio froze as he thought about it and saw the pain in Harry's face. Sergio tried putting himself in Sarah's shoes multiple times and tried to understand, but he never fully understood the extend to which this all went.

It then hit him, Sarah missed a trip with England the season before to Madrid for England vs Spain. "Is that why she didn't come to Madrid last year?" he asked as Harry sighed and nodded slowly. "The training session before we left, I just found her in our physio room in a complete state of panic. All she could repeat was 'I can't go. I can't do it' and I made sure no one forced her. We didn't bother for the Wembley game either." he explained.

Sergio kept learning more and more about Harry's character when someone spoke of him or whenever he spoke. That man dropped everything  for Sarah and made sure she was okay. Harry couldn't bare to see Sarah suffer. and that is what Sergio had lacked for so long. Even though he hated how Harry approached him the times before, he couldn't help but respect him.

"What do you hope to gain from all of this?" Sergio then asked after thinking about everything. The look of confusion came across Harry's face as he looked at Sergio like he was stupid. "Why would I be in this for my own personal gain? She's the one who deserves the whole damn universe, and that is my goal. I just want to give her all of the happiness she deserves."