Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto and the translation of the song Still Echo by Chemistry, which is used in the letter

Pairings: SasuNaru, mentioning of NaruSaku

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Still Echo

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Sasuke stiffened when he felt tan arms snaking around his naked waist wanting to pull him closer to another equally naked body, blond hair tickling his bare shoulders and without looking at his lover, he knew that a grin full of contentment was plastered on his beautiful features.

He felt sick to his stomach when a wave of nausea washed over him, his body trembled not only from coldness but also from so many suppressed emotions making his head throb with unbearable ache.

Naruto opened his eyes with a worried expression "Are you alright?" he asked caressing his stomach.

Sasuke inwardly laughed at the stupidity of the question, wondering if Naruto indeed was worried for his well-being or it was one of his well-played acts.

"I'm fine. I need to get ready for my new mission" he ground out detaching himself from Naruto and not bothering to cover his nudeness waked out of the room.

He badly needed shower to wash all of the impure thoughts out of his head before he had done something against his principles. How long he would be able to act out his part as well, he wondered briefly.

Everyone has heir limit, and he had one too.

He instantly relaxed when he felt warm water trickling down his body, probably, this was the only one thing that could make his guard down for a little bit.

Sasuke's mind wondered to the time when he had walked into their apartment tired as hell after death tiring mission that had prolonged to get more information that is accurate from the neighborhood village. Naruto was nowhere in sight, and without any effort he could exactly point out his whereabouts. He was not genius and the most skilled ninja for nothing.

He pressed his back against the door of their bedroom, his hands balled into the fists and his teeth tightly clenched together, adding more pressure to his already aching jaw.

He did it again. He fucking dared to do it again!

At first, he thought that it was some kind of phase or experiment, which would be finished when he will be tired of it and appreciate what he has. It seemed that he was wrong.

He could still feel a faint trace of Sakura's chakra, which had smeared into their bed sheets and all over their fucking bedroom. If he was fucking her, at least he could show some decency to be discrete about it.

However, knowing Naruto he should be expecting this.

Everyone seemed to think that he was as dense as Naruto when it came to these matters, seeing how it was his first love and the only relationship he ever had, so it was assumed that he won't notice and others if they ever noticed what was happening around them shrugged it off as every day's occurrence.

Their relationship was not a secret to anyone and hell, they even announced publicly that they had engaged and despite their dysfunctional showing of love to each other, they were inseparable.

Sasuke's head collided with cold and damp surface of the bathroom wall, which perfectly served as the medicine to cool off his unbearable headache.

Every time Naruto was hanging around Sakura, without them knowing that he was spying on them, he would see masked glances thrown to each other, innocent hugs that seemed so friendly to eyes of others. However, meant much more than it shown, lingering of linked arms under the table and many more details that he hoped he would be capable of to forget.

A knock awakened him from his train of thoughts and a concerned voice once more questioned about the lack of free days from the missions.

Whose fault do you think it is? He mentally shouted clutching his head to block out that voice which he fell in love, that voice that had so many different tones when they had sex, the voice that screamed his name when he rode out his orgasm clutching his body as if his life depended on it.

Lies, fucking lies!

How many times do you scream her name? How many times you whispered sweet nothings to her ear, reassuring about your future together. How many passionate nights did you share together forgetting that you had a person by your side who would give up anything for you?

Everything was a well-planned lie.

Moreover, what frustrated him the most was that he attempted to live a life pretending not to care and not to see what Naruto was doing when he was out of the village or somewhere close for that matter, because he still wanted to be the most important person in his life by showing what only he could offer.

Apparently, it was not enough.

He dried off his body and dressed up, so that he could pack all the necessary things that were sure to guaranty the success of the received mission.

He could feel that Naruto was staring at him questioningly and unsure whether he should break the silence or not.

"How long you mission will last?"

Sasuke gripped the shuriken he was holding in his arms, willing his arm not to throw it away at the direction the blond was. It almost made him chuckle, because his ears did not seem to comply to him anymore and told him the reverse versions of Naruto's spoken words.

"How long I will be able to fuck her without your interference?"

"One week"

"What's the rank of the mission?"

"Is there any chance that your mission might be prolonged? I don't want any surprises"

"S rank"

Sasuke's eyelids fluttered in attempt to discard those annoying voices out of his mind, because every minute they became louder and louder, proposing several of different suggestions to get rid of the problem and lift that weight off his shoulders.

Naruto's arms encircled his neck, laying his head on his shoulder in attempt to prolong their moment of separation "Don't you ever forget that I love you"

Another wave of nausea washed over his body, but this time it was far stronger than the previous ones he had and he was glad that Naruto's hold on him was preventing his body from collapsing on the floor.

"Hn"

He placed a small kiss on those traitorous lips and when Naruto yanked him for a more passionate kiss, he placed his fingers to add more distance between them and with a hurried "I need to go" disappeared out of Naruto's world for good.

Now he was nothing but a mere missing ninja, who killed few of his teammates during the mission and betrayed the village he once called his home by siding with the enemies he had been ordered to kill.

Sasuke detachedly stared at the scene that was progressing in front of his eyes; his once warm and radiating love eyes now with sick amusement watched how Tsunade was ordering her troops to catch him by any means for further investigation.

A sadistic smile spread on his nub and cold lips as Naruto collapsed on the ground, his hands gripping an envelope closer to his body and heart, repeating his name like some kind of mantra, showing his teary eyes for everyone who passed by.

How does it feel to be crushed inside…?

He clearly saw how Naruto furiously tried to clear off his name by persuading all of his supposed friends or comrades in crime that he was innocent and it was one of their enemies plan to make them believe otherwise.

When that feeling is eating you alive…?

Sakura hugged Naruto from behind, equally bawling her eyes out and for a brief moment, he wondered if they are so concerned for his disappearance and vilify of his name or it is their way to atone for their sins.

Leaving only a death void in your heart

They were truly splendid actors who could maintain their composures when it was handy for them, forgetting that there always was a person who could see through their disguise and words wrapped in lies.

Naruto,

I have taken off my ring; the mark will have gone completely by tomorrow. The sad freedom of days without you, all that remains in my heart is pain. How many sleepless nights will I have before I forget you? Even if someone loves you strongly in the days after now, even if they make your long hair shine red with their sweet words…How strongly does the sun need to shine on me for this pain to dry up? How much wandering will I need to do before you will be in the past? I still hear your voice though I know I cannot go back to that time…

Hollow laughs escaped his lips when he heard Naruto hoarsely and desperately shouting his name repeatedly with hopes that it might reach him; it was no use, they both perfectly knew that.

Only a crumpled letter with golden ring attached to it reprimanded them of their betrayal and non-reversible actions, because none can find the rewind button no matter how in dire need you were.

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"When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself"

By Isaac Bashevis singer

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