AN: *cackles maniacally*

Red'Ocean- you think wouldn't but how much you wanna bet tsubasa probs think dirty thoughts about sanae. i mean why else would they get married so early in the manga *wink, wink* we all know canon!tsubasa is too noble to have his way with sanae without them being married first or is he? but anyway, thanks for always reading. im glad youre falling in love with my tsubasa and sanae, because between you and me, im falling in love with them too.

Cool Kid- hey there dave strider. jkjkjk. i dont know who you are, im glad you reviewed. if you want to read more TsuSan stories that i made, just visit my profile. I usually have [TsubasaxSanae] on them so they're not that hard to see, except for this one and LDCS since WOS and LDCS are the part of the FOLW universe which is a TsuSan fic... But if you really want the list it's: Flying on Little Wings, Distractions, Wide Open Skies, Nights Like These (NSFW), Love Inside me, and Now a Lovely Night Will Begin. Enjoy!

Unknown- hey mang, thanks for reading and reviewing. I tried to give fluff as much as possible, but... yeah... As you can see, I am continuing writing this, but updating... yeah. i'm gonna try to write more chapters, but i have no promises. also please dont always tell me to put up a chapter. i appreciate you liking my story, but it doesnt really help me write. thanks tho.

Sanae fan- heyyyy, yup i am continuing. im happy you adore my story! its just really me updating. sorry. thanks for reading and reviewing. its gladly appreciated! 3

yeah i dont own captain tsubasa

Chapter 33: Trouble in Paradise

It's been a few weeks since they came back from the training camp. Most of them, after the excitement of the past friendly games, went back to focusing on their schooling, Sanae being one of them. They had to prepare for their finals before going to summer vacation after all. If they all wanted to graduate that year, they needed to keep their grades up. Besides with the real tournament coming up in summer, they couldn't afford to fail and go to summer school. And with her choice of college to go, she needed her grades to be the best there is.

She stretched her arms up in the air and stood up from her seat. She's been typing away on her laptop for about four hours now, catching up on her writing and creating her portfolio to submit to Columbia University's School of Arts. Ever since she decided what she wanted to do in her last year of junior high, she immediately set out to create stories that was worthy of the Ivy League school. Taking that summer workshop right after their U-15 Girl's Tournament at Columbia helped her so much, and as much as she cringed at her other works before that, anything after the workshop were a whole deal better than those angst filled craziness.

After making sure that she saved her file, Sanae took her phone and went out of her room. She immediately headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat, passing by Ayame's room, who seemed to be focused on a homework assignment. Just like her, she was going to college in America, and though it wasn't an Ivy League, the University of Michigan was just as rigorous and hard to get to. Sanae couldn't fathom why she would risk her blood and sweat on a school that didn't even really offer the program she wanted, but Ayame only shrugged, saying that it was her Papi's alma mater and he wanted at least one of his grandchildren to go to U of M. Then she added that she wasn't on planning graduating there, and still wanted to pursue her dreams of fashion designing in Paris. It was only a matter of convincing her mom that she could be a fashion designer.

As she grabbed two apples from the counter, she suddenly felt her phone vibrate from the pocket of her shorts. She quickly looked at it just in time to see Tsubasa sent her a text before the screen faded again. Pressing the middle button, her screen lit up again and read her boyfriend's text.

Hey, want to go to the mall with me? I'm bored.

Eugh. As much as she would loved to go hang out with him, she didn't think she had the time. She wanted to finish the story as soon as possible so she could send it to Ayame's aunt to proof read, and she was planning to study for the Chemistry test that they were going to have on next week.

Sorry, can't. I'm kind of busy today.

Before she could even set her phone down, she already received another text from him.

Busy? With what?

She didn't waste any time replying either.

Stuff.

She answered vaguely. Up until right now, Tsubasa still didn't know about her plans to go to Columbia. She didn't know how to bring it up! Whenever she's with Tsubasa, he always would rather just be with her to relax and this whole thing was far from relaxing.

Stuff? Like what?

You know, stuff. School and all that.

Well, maybe you could use a break from this stuff and just go with me. Besides, all that studying would be burn you out.

Well, he wasn't wrong. But…

Hey, I know you just want to hang out, but I really can't ignore all of these. I promise tomorrow we'll do whatever you want.

Maybe that would stop him from pestering her and leave her alone for a while. And let her eat finally.

Before she could even move, her phone lit up again with another text from him.

Huffing, she read it.

Too late.

Too late? What did he mean by too la-

"I thought you were studying."

She looked towards the stairs just to see him against the arch, a cheeky smile on his face. No matter how long they've been together, she still get butterflies whenever he smiled like this.

"Well, you're mom kind of already told me that you were writing, not studying," he said as he moved away from the entrance to her. Once he was close, he immediately greeted her with a kiss on her forehead, and she couldn't help the smile to form on her lips as she relished the feel of his lips on her skin.

"Hello to you too," she chuckled as he looked up to him. He only smiled back before wrapping his arms around her and gave her a tight squeeze.

"For someone who said she was busy, you don't seem like it," he teased as he leaned against the table, crossing his arms.

Sanae rolled her eyes before grabbing a knife and a cutting board. "Can't a person take a break? I'm hungry," she retorted, cutting the two apples into pieces. She offered a piece to Tsubasa, who took it mindlessly as he watched her wash the utensils in the sink.

"All the more reason you should go with me," he pushed while she went to the fridge to get the caramel dipping. "How long have you been writing anyway?"

That's a good question.

She glanced at clock, reading that it was already 2:23 pm before going back to the fridge. "Give or take six hours," she answered as she closed the fridge door, the dip in her hand.

Tsubasa took the plate of apples from the counter and set it on the table before grabbing a seat. She put the caramel dipping on the table opened it, taking the seat across from him.

"Six hours?" Tsubasa repeated as he dipped an apple slice into the caramel. Sanae copied him, shrugging as she proceeded to eat the fruit."You really need to get away from your laptop," he said as he ate his own piece.

"No I don't," she said as she repeated her actions. After gulping she continued. "Why do you think I'm taking a snack break right now? After this, I can go for another four hours of writing and studying."

"You're going to burn yourself out," Tsubasa told him with a slice in his hand. "Get off your laptop. Your writing can wait. It's not like it's going to get up and walk away from you. Besides, why is it so important to finish it anyway?"

Her whole college application depended on that piece.

Sanae shrugged and ate another caramel covered apple slice.

"Come on," Tsubasa pleaded. "If you don't to do it for yourself, do it for me? I haven't seen you since forever."

Sanae gave her an exasperated look. "You saw me yesterday," she told him. "How is that forever?"

"Can't a guy in love just express his feelings?" he retorted with a cheeky smile.

Immediately, she froze and felt her cheeks burn. Damn it, how was she going to say no to that.

"Ugh, fine," she said as she finished the last slice of apple. "I'll go to the mall with you, you big sap."

Tsubasa only laughed and took one of her hands before kissing her knuckles.

Oh god, with gestures like this, Sanae didn't know how she could even resist him even for just a couple of seconds.

She took the empty plate as she stood up, putting it in the sink. "Let me just change first and then we can go."

"Can I watch?"

"No!"

She wasn't going to admit it, but it was a great idea to go to the mall. It was nice just walking around the place, holding Tsubasa's hand. Of course, they visited the sports stores in the mall, checking out various gears and knick knacks they might need for the tournament. Although, instead of anything for soccer, they managed to buy matching water bottles instead. Not to mention, they also bought those stupid couple's shirts (one that said "I'm her studmuffin" for him, and an "I'm his cupcake for her") because it was so cheesy, they just had to get it for the laughs. It was also actually pretty hilarious dragging her boyfriend through shops he'd die first before entering. She didn't actually mean it, but she remembered she was running out of mascara so she kind of just gravitated towards the cosmetics store. Sanae really only meant to check out the mascara section, but like any other teenage girl, she just had to see all the other kinds of makeup available. Poor Tsubasa had to stand there awkwardly as she asked him if that one shade of foundation matched her skin tone or was it the other one. Well, she did manage to make it up to him by asking him what lip gloss she liked better by kissing him every time she tried one.

In the end, they managed to spend the whole afternoon fooling around the mall.

Now, they sat in a bench in Hikarigaoka Park. Their items were on the ground, close to their feet. They were watching the sunset, giggling as they exchange stories of anything and nothing.

"This is all your fault," she laughed as she tried getting away from his tickling fingers. "I wanted to write my story and maybe study before I sleep . Now I don't even know if I'll even be able to finish tonight. Quit it!"

Tsubasa only chuckled and tickled the side of her stomach. "How is that my fault? You're the one who decided to check every store for makeup."

"Admit it, you had fun anyway," she replied, finally able to push his hands away. "Don't think I didn't know you liked it every time I kissed you when I tried out the lip gloss."

Tsubasa only smirked as threw an arm around her shoulders. Sanae instinctively snuggled closer to him. "Well, you're not wrong," he said as he faced her, kissing her lips once more. She only smiled against their sealed lips.

"We should really go home," she said once they separated.

"Why?" Tsubasa whined. "Can't we stay a little longer."

"Because I still have work to do," she said. "And I would really like to at least add a few more stuff on what I'm writing."

"Your writing again?" He repeated exasperated. He took his arm from her and pouted, crossing his arms instead. "Is it just me or are you really putting that before me?"

"What no!" she denied. She wasn't putting her writing before him. It was just at the top of her priority right now.

...Actually that did sound like she was putting her writing before him.

But it's just that, her whole dream depended on that piece. If she didn't do well in it, she didn't know what she was going to do. Sure, she'd just go to college here, but it wouldn't be the same if she couldn't get into Columbia University.

She knew this was the time to tell Tsubasa about all of this, of what she planned. But was she ready to know what he was going to feel, of what he was going to say when he finds out that she didn't want to stay in Japan for college, that she wanted to be an author no matter what?

She took a peek at his expectant face, an annoyed scowl marring his lips.

One way to find out.

"Look," she took a deep breath. Tsubasa straightened his body. Releasing a sigh, she continued.

"I- I want to go to New York," she said, "for- for college."

Tsubasa stared at her in surprise. "New York?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Columbia University has one of the best Creative Writing programs and-"

"Really, Sanae? New York?" Tsubasa interrupted her with disbelief. "Are you sure about this?"

She took another deep breath and answered him.

"Yes," she said. "And I already talked to everyone-"

"Wait, everyone knows but me?" he interrupted once more.

"Will you please let me continue before you interrupt again?" she told him as calmly as possible.

Tsubasa for his part, shut up thankfully. He still had a scowl on his face. Sanae took this as her cue to continue

"When I said everyone, I meant those close to me-"

"So I'm not close to you then?"

"Will you just shut up for a second?" she hissed. Tsubasa only glared at her and crossed his arms once more.

"Mama and Oji-san already said they're fine with it," she continued. "And Ayame's mom and dad are helping me process my papers. Her aunt is actually helping with my writing too. I have most of the needed tests completed and all I have to do is submit my application, and aside from that, I have to submit pieces of my writing to the university. That's why I've been so engrossed in writing lately."

She found herself taking another deep breath.

"I made this decision even before you came back, and almost all of needed paperwork happened before we even got together," she said. "I didn't even plan on telling you, mostly because I didn't think you'd care. We were just friends at that point after all. But when we got together, I knew I needed to tell it to you. It's just that I didn't know how."

Tsubasa was about to open his mouth, but one look from her was enough for him to close it again.

"It's just that, you didn't seem like you wanted to talk about t-this," she gestured with her hands to the both of them. "The future, our future. You seemed like you'd rather just stay in the moment. It also doesn't help that you were so stressed with managing the club and tournament and you know…" she trailed off. "I didn't want to make you even more rattled than you already were."

There was a long pause between them, before Tsubasa sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"It didn't really help," he mumbled softly. Sanae frowned. What's that supposed to mean?

"What?" she challenged.

Tsubasa sighed and turned to her. "Do you really want to go to New York? Why?"

Was he serious?

"Why not?" she retorted. "You know I've always loved to write! It's my dream to be an author. Why do you seem so against it?"

"I'm not against it!" he denied. "It's just that, why did it have to be C-Col- whatever the name of that university. Doesn't Shizuoka University have that same program? What about TokyoU, or what about the other universities?" He let out a deep sigh. "Why do you have to leave Japan just to reach your goals?"

Sanae narrowed her eyes at him and sneered. Was he fucking serious? When he himself was crossing the same ocean just to fulfill his own dream

"You're one to talk," she scoffed. "It's not like you're going halfway across the world to be a professional soccer player. Oh wait, you are."

Tsubasa turned to her sharply, his shoulders rising as she watched him take a deep breath.

"That's different," he growled.

Oh my god, she was going to strangle him soon.

"How is that any different?" she demanded. "I just want to pursue my own dreams by going to America, just like you want to be a pro in Brazil. Why are you dead against on me going after my dreams?"

"I'm not against it!" he repeated. "I just don't see the point of you going out of the country for it!"

"Well I don't see the point of you going out of the country to become a professional soccer player anyway!" She screamed, standing up and grabbing her stuff from the ground.

"Where are you going?" Tsubasa demanded, standing up as well.

"Away from you!" she screamed again, walking away from him. "Away from you and your stupid soccer-headed face!"

"Oh yeah!" she heard Tsubasa challenged. "Well, I don't want to be with you and your stupid writing-obsessed brain anyway!"

She only ignored him and continued on her way, missing the way Tsubasa kicked the bench in frustration before he slumped down in defeat.

End Chapter

AN: *continued to cackle maniaclly*