A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, I wasn't really intending to post this chapter yet since I still don't know how the story will flow after the next few chapters but I was pressured by one of my friends to post it. So, you guys should thank her, let's name her Miss Anonymous. HAHA. ^_^ Here you go. chapter 10.. ^_^

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. :D

Choice #10: Family Bonding

Sakura and Sasuke slept in different rooms of course, seeing as her father doesn't like him much. Sakura slept alone the night before since Ayaka insisted on sleeping beside her grandparents. Mr. Haruno practically locked Sasuke inside his room before going to bed, making sure that he won't sneak out. On their third morning, Sakura already had plans.

"Papa, I'll be taking Ayaka out after lunch, I want to tour her around Sapporo." Sakura said, taking a bite of her toast. Sasuke looked interested.

"Oh, a tour? Why don't you take Sasuke-kun too? He's probably never traveled up north that much." Her mother said, earning her a shot of glares from both Sakura and her father. Her mother just gave her an innocent smile.

"Fine. We'll be taking a tour around the city." Sakura said in defeat. Ayaka was just listening intently and upon hearing that Sasuke was coming, her face lit up.

"Yipee! Papa is coming!" Ayaka squealed, hopping over to Sasuke and climbing onto his lap. Sasuke smiled a bit for a moment upon seeing Ayaka's reaction. Sakura's father's eyes widened at what he heard though.

"Sakura! She knows that Sasuke is her father?" Mr. Haruno said quite loudly that everyone in the room went silent. Sakura bit her lip, wanting to strangle her father to death.

"No.." Sakura hissed, she caught a glimpse of a stunned Ayaka, even though she's just 6, she certainly understood a lot of things. Ayaka just sat silently, probably trying to decipher what she heard. Sakura glared at her father who was looking at her apologetically. "You just revealed it." Sakura ended her previous answer.

"I didn't..know." Her father said, knowing his mistake. Sakura sighed and told Sasuke to usher Ayaka outside the dining room while she talked this out with her parents. Ayaka and Sasuke obliged and they left the room.

"Pa…" Sakura started. Her father laughed nervously. "This is not a laughing matter. I wasn't planning on telling her yet." Sakura said in a low, but fierce voice.

"Sakura, it's about time she knows. She's become rather close to him already." Her mother said in a calm tone, telling Sakura what she had observed for the past days.

"I didn't picture telling her about it to be like this."

"You're going to have to tell her sooner or later. I suggest sooner, as in right now, so that she won't hold a grudge against you when she grows up." Her mother advised. Sakura sighed, her father was now quiet and letting her mother take over.

"Papa, you really should be thankful that you have Mama to cover up your mistake." Sakura sighed, standing up calmly.

"Go on then. You have a full day ahead of you, as a family." Her mother said with a smile. Sakura turned her back to them.

"Not quite." She mumbled, knowing that even though Ayaka will now be with her parents, they're not really an official family. She left them and joined Sasuke and Ayaka inside the living room.

Sakura saw Sasuke and Ayaka talking intently, well, at least Ayaka was talking, Sasuke was just sitting there and smiling at her.

"Papa! Are you my REAL Papa?" Ayaka asked. "Jii-chan just said.." Ayaka's voice trailed off.

"Let's leave that to your Mama." Sasuke replied simply, seeing Sakura approaching them. Sakura produced a crooked smile as she sat down beside Sasuke. "You look ridiculous." He said. Sakura shook her head as she tried to shake the uneasiness away from her mind as well.

"Ayaka. Will you be really angry if I answer 'yes' to your questions?" Sakura asked carefully. Ayaka just stared at her while Sakura was going insane because of the long pause.

"No." Ayaka said with a smile. 'This is going smoothly.' Sakura and Sasuke thought. Ayaka jumped up and down excitedly. "Then it means that Sasuke-kun is really Papa! I'm so happy!" Ayaka squealed as she jumped towards Sasuke, giving him a full hug. Sasuke just hugged her back, patting her head lightly.

"Thank God. You're not angry at Mama for keeping her secret?" Sakura asked.

"No because Mama always say that Papa loves Ayaka even though Papa was not there." Ayaka smiled sheepishly, pulling away from Sasuke. Sakura laughed and hugged her daughter.

"Thank you Aya-chan." She said. Ayaka hugged her back and pulled away. She grabbed Sakura's hand and gave it to Sasuke to hold.

"Mama and Papa are together!" Ayaka said, teasing. Sakura thought that her daughter had gone nuts. She hastily pulled her hands away, Ayaka frowned when Sakura did so but before she could react, Sakura stood up.

"We better get going if you want to see the city." Sakura said, trying to get away. She eventually did, excusing herself and telling them that she'll prepare food. Ayaka was deeply thinking about something.

"What is it Ayaka?" Sasuke asked as he saw that Ayaka was bothered. Ayaka's face was scrunched all together.

"What is Na-chan then?" She asked, curious about it. She's been with Naruto for a year so it's normal that she would ask. Naruto was never a 'Papa' for her, he's more like an uncle that stays over at their house. Sasuke smirked, of course, she was his daughter and it's natural that she's smart. He knew that she'll eventually come to ask this.

"Come here, I'll tell you." Sasuke said, calling her over and whispering something to her ear. Ayaka's mouth formed a big 'O' as she nodded just in time when Sakura came back.

"What's all the whispering about?" Sakura asked. Ayaka smiled.

"Nothing." Sasuke said, a smug look plastered on his face. 'They're keeping secrets now? It was probably a bad idea to tell her the truth.' Sakura thought, glaring at Sasuke.

They took off and stared touring Sapporo. Sakura became their tour guide as they took the local transportation to go to each place. They've been to the Sapporo Clock Tower, went to the Sapporo Beer Museum that even Sasuke got bored in since he's not really into drinking and the former government office building.

"Now that is the Sapporo TV Tower." Sakura said with a smile when they arrived at the place. Sasuke shook his head as he noticed that Ayaka was getting bored since they arrived.

"That's not exactly what a little girl wants to see." Sasuke said boredly. Even he was bored and he's a grown man. Sakura glared at him.

"Well, I'm sorry if I want to impart my Sapporo knowledge in our daughter." Sakura retorted, now openly saying that Ayaka is their daughter. Sasuke started to walk away; Ayaka looked at him and followed him, holding his hand. "Where are you two going?" Sakura asked.

"To Susukino." Sasuke replied. Sakura's eyes widened.

Susukino was Sapporo's red-light district, why the hell would Sasuke take Ayaka there? She's far too young. But there was no stopping him. It was nightfall when they reached the place and Ayaka got so thrilled upon seeing a lot of neon lights blinking in front of her eyes, it looked fantastic for her.

"Can we go in one?" Ayaka asked innocently, tugging at Sakura's coat.

"I'm sorry honey, we're not allowed in there." Sakura replied nicely. She turned to Sasuke. "Why are we here?"

"Hn."

They walked and walked and after absorbing what was happening around her, Sakura realized why Sasuke brought them there. It was February and ice-sculptors were working and adding finishing touches to their ice sculptures for Sapporo's Snow Festival which is going to be held that month, how could she forget? She sighed, disappointed at herself.

"Again, you planned this ahead of time. Damn it." Sakura said, walking beside Sasuke. She felt like Sasuke was controlling this trip after all while he just smirked. Sakura kept on getting surprises from him.

"Papa, what are they doing?" Ayaka asked, tugging onto Sasuke's hand while pointing at a man carving a swan on the ice.

"They're carving on ice." Sasuke said lamely and truthfully, describing what they're really doing. Sakura snorted and butted in, she couldn't let him ruin this for Ayaka.

"They're making magic, honey." Sakura's eyes glimmered as she said it and so did Ayaka's. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.

'Girls.' He thought. "You're infecting her with your wishful fantasies." Sasuke said. Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

"She's just a little girl, let her indulge in it." Sakura said, looking at Ayaka who was observing and admiring some of the little snow artworks.

"I assume that you've been telling her all about those 'prince charming' things." Sasuke said, his tone was accusing and amused. Sakura glared at him.

"So what if I do?" Sakura retorted. 'He'll definitely fail as a father, so full of facts. It's uninteresting.' Sakura thought, snickering.

"Where's yours then?" Sasuke asked suddenly, looking over at her. Sakura looked at him questioningly, "Prince Charming." Sasuke said, wanting to throw up as he did so. Sakura smiled.

"He's…" Sakura started. "…somewhere." She ended. Sasuke was surprised that she did not say that it was Naruto, so he smirked.

"I got stuck in traffic." Sasuke said, hinting that he was her 'prince charming' [throws up]. Sakura realized what he was playing at, she smiled regretfully.

"A traffic that took you six years to escape from." Sakura said, her voice low and in a sad tone. Sasuke glanced at her.

'At least I got out of it.' was what he wanted to say, but his boastful self got better of him. "So it is me after all." He smirked. Sakura snorted.

"Get a life Sasuke." She said, grabbing Ayaka's hand and walking away with her. Sasuke smiled for a bit and followed them.

They were walking a lot when Ayaka stopped and tugged at both of her parents' hands. They looked at her. They were attracting a lot of stares from the crowd, the crowd found them cute and a perfect family; they were so wrong.

"Cold…hungry…steak?" Ayaka said cutely. Sakura shook her head.

"I know something better." She said.

They entered a ramen shop. Of course, Sapporo Ramen was popular in Sapporo, tourist or not. It made up for the cold weather that is usually felt throughout the prefecture. When they entered the ramen house, Ayaka's stomach immediately began to make angry noises.

"Ramen!" Ayaka squealed. Sakura laughed while Sasuke ordered them 3 big bowls of ramen. Their orders arrived in a matter of minutes.

"Careful, it's hot." Sakura warned Ayaka. Ayaka laughed and took a sip.

"Oishii!" Ayaka squealed again. "Na-chan loves this!" She commented. Sakura choked on her food.

'Right. Naruto, I've completely forgotten about him.' She thought. A lot has happened in the past three days and she definitely enjoyed her time with her family, both of her families. Sasuke saw the look in Sakura's eyes.

"Worried." Sasuke stated.

"Of course." Sakura said, even though her worries were now easily swept away, unlike before. 'I guess..I really..' She did not continue that thought, she shook her head and got back to eating.

"We're going to Norubesa tomorrow." Sasuke suddenly said. Sakura looked at him and her worries were gone in an instant.

"Really?" Sakura said happily. It has been years since she last rode the Norubesa, that big Ferris wheel is something that a person should not miss. Since she moved to Tokyo, she hasn't been back to ride it yet.

"What's that?" Ayaka asked, her mouth full of noodles.

"You'll see." Sasuke said to her with a smile.

"Wait. It's our fourth day tomorrow, how long are we staying here? And what about the meeting with Hiroshi-san?" Sakura asked, despite of herself. She didn't want to go back to work after her vacation, but she had no choice, it was still a business trip after all.

"That's on Friday. We'll head back on Saturday morning." Sasuke explained.

It was like there was a party inside Sakura's head, another two days of office break, it made her unexplainably happy. They finished eating and after taking a few more walks around Susukino [but carefully avoiding all the bars], they headed back home to take a good night sleep.

They didn't leave the next day until it was almost night fall, Sakura's parents were surprised by this. They usually leave first thing in the morning.

"Where are you going?" Mr. Haruno asked. It was Sakura who answered.

"To Norubesa." She said excitedly, she was much more excited than Ayaka and her mother noticed this.

"Well, enjoy." Her mother said. The three of them bid her parents goodbye and they walked out, braving the cold. Her mother was smiling broadly.

"What is that smile on your face?" Mr. Haruno asked.

"That man really knows everything that could make our daughter happy." She replied, admiring Sasuke's effort. She knew she shouldn't be taking sides, but even she was reeled in by his charm.

"You think so?" Her husband asked.

"Of course. He was the first one to call me, remember that phone call a week ago? He asked me how to get here and then two days ago, he reserved a ticket in advance for a ride in the Norubesa. Now that is what you call sweet." Mrs. Haruno explained. Her husband frowned.

"I thought you didn't know that they were coming home." He told her, surprised.

"Well, I didn't think he was serious, but here they are now." She laughed. "I guess he really loves her."

"As much as I hate to say it, he does. After all, he endured a lot of things and decided against his will a lot just to come back here for her." Sakura's father said, admiration seeping out of him.

"I wonder what they're going to do now, with Naruto and Sasuke's wife." Mrs. Haruno said. Mr. Haruno shrugged.

"They should give it up, they're both married." He said, his wife frowned at him. Mrs. Haruno knew that Sakura was happy with Naruto but she also knew that Sakura still loves Sasuke deep in her heart. "I'm glad we're not in their generation; life and love nowadays are too complicated." He sighed.

"True." She replied.

The three of them went to the Norubesa and Sakura couldn't hide her excitement as they neared the place. Sasuke presented their ticket and proceeded to enter the big wheel. Ayaka, on the other hand, was holding onto Sasuke's hand very tightly.

"Are you afraid of heights?" He asked her. Ayaka nodded, her eyes tightly closed. Sasuke smiled. "Look at Mama. She's not afraid."

"But that's Mama! I'm Ayaka." Ayaka whined, well she's got a point. Sasuke placed her on his lap.

"You'll sit on Papa's lap then." He said. "Open your eyes." He ended. Ayaka reluctantly opened her eyes.

"Mama, are you okay?" Ayaka asked. Sakura was being weird; she was smiling idiotically, very much like the Sakura before. Sasuke snapped his hands in front of her.

"Get back in here." Sasuke said, referring to her thoughts and her whole soul which seems like it was flying outside the wheel. Sakura blinked, still smiling. She jumped next to Sasuke and surprisingly, hugged him tight.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! It's like when I was a kid." Sakura said and she started babbling.

Ayaka listened to Sakura's story, her fear ebbing away. Sasuke was just watching them, he knew that this would work. They were halfway to the top when Sakura noticed that the lightings were changed and a light show was put on.

'So that's why he didn't plan on going yesterday, it was because there was a light show today.' Sakura thought. Norubesa was also in the area near Susukino and she wondered all night why he didn't take them there the night before.

"Wow…" Ayaka said, disturbing Sakura's thoughts. There was a fireworks display too. Ayaka was now looking outside and leaning on the window, her fear completely gone.

"You planned this. Again. Why do you keep on doing that?" Sakura asked with a big smile, now she's not irritated about it like before.

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

Sakura was so overwhelmed and touched that she just didn't know what to do. She just turned to him and quickly planted a kiss on his cheek. Sasuke was surprised, but still kept his cool. Sakura, however, was blushing furiously.

"Thank you." She said before turning away and joining her daughter who was still obsessing with the lights.

Her thoughts, however, was not on the light show. Her thoughts were glued on Sasuke; it felt like they were back to being the couple that they were before, only now, with their daughter. It felt like she was back into the Sakura who was so deeply and immensely in love with Sasuke. She smiled at the thought before getting her attention back to the display.

'Just a little bit more.' Sasuke told himself, satisfied at the results he was earning. He deserved this, he deserved to have her back.

A/N: Sweet. Yes? No? haha. I swear, I think I know Japan so well right now even though I haven't been there yet. I really did a lot of research just to write this FF, that seriously breaks my record. Haha. I'm trying to be factual, you see, and at the same time fictional. ^_^ hohoho. Well..I'll try to update early. I don't know what to write next..needing inspiration. ^_^ Bye! Reviews please!

*edit* sorry. I put in -five- years above..it should've been six. Thanks for pointing that one out WhiteRose95. Well, maybe now you're thinking that Ayaka should still be 5 years old..I'm going to explain that next chapter..maybe? I'll think of something to make this work out. lol. haha.

March 1, 2011 [Tuesday; 9:44 p.m.]

Philippines