*.*.*.*.*Snow Day*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*A note from Giada*.*.*

Thank you for reading, friends. I had intended to add a couple more chapters to this story, but I think they stand better alone. I edited Chapter 3 to allow for this, so it now has a slightly different ending.

*.* Some things you should know about 'Snow Day'

*Snow Day was started shortly after the release of 700. Gaiden hadn't been released.
*We didn't know that Lee's student was his son, Metal Lee.
*We didn't know which translation would stick - Bolt or Boruto.
*Mitsuki hadn't been introduced as a character.
*The relationship between Sasuke/Sarada, Naruto/Bolt hadn't been explained at all.

The original outline of this story/the chapters beyond this point don't make sense in light of the release of Naruto Gaiden and the Boruto movie. Instead of discarding everything I had written, I have condensed them into a short follow up story, entitled 'Frost Flower.' I hope you'll check it out!

As always, thank you for reading!

Here is an excerpt from the sequel:

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*.*.*.*.*Frost Flower*.*.*.*.*

Tenten stayed as long as she was able, until Lee gently handed her the package with a kind and knowing look.

His normal bonecrushing hug was replaced with something gentler, and she gave him a friendly peck on the cheek.

"See you later, Lee," she murmured to her old teammate.

He held her at arms-length and met her eyes seriously.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah," she gave a small smile. "Tomorrow."

She was half a block away before she realized she was cradling the parcel against her chest.

She could still see him smirking proudly as Naruto tried to reason all the ways that their team hadn't really lost. Neji had shrugged off each of his objections and told him he was welcome to try another time. He'd given her the flag to seal for safekeeping. She loved that proud look he wore, and the confidence in his every word. She could still feel the brush of his fingers across her hands as he handed her the flag, and the shared smile of triumph between teammates. That was one of her favorite memories of him, from that first match all of those years ago. She always kept the flag between matches – the last one being a much needed stress relief right before the war, and in the mud rather than the snow.

She walked partway home with him then. "Next time," he said, watching a bird soar through the sky. "Next time, we do this, the war will be over." He looked over at her with something they both knew but they couldn't say. He handed her the flag, brushing his thumbs over her wrists. "Keep hold of this until then," he said quietly. "I know it is safe with you."

She nodded and he smiled softly. He brushed mud from her cheek and she laughed at the futility of the gesture, as they were both covered in mud. She stopped laughing when he kissed her gently.

"When the war is over," he repeated quietly, resting his forehead against hers.

"When the war is over," she agreed.

Now the war was over…

…but he wasn't coming home.

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