*Who's My Eternal*
*The Field — 8:30 PM*
Cherry knew.
She didn't see it. Didn't hear it.
But she _knew_.
One minute she was at home, eating dinner. The next, her stomach twisted.
_Elian._
She dropped her spoon. Ran.
No shoes. No jacket. Just ran.
Through the farm. Past the coop. Into the field.
Moon was bright. Bright enough to see him.
Still standing. Same spot. Like he'd grown roots.
Like if he moved, he'd shatter.
"Elian," Cherry called. Soft.
He didn't turn.
She walked closer. Slower now.
"Hey," she said. "It's me."
He still didn't move.
Cherry stopped in front of him.
His face was empty.
"Elian," she whispered.
He blinked. Saw her.
And broke.
He got up. Not like a man standing. Like something collapsing forward.
Stumbled two steps.
And crashed into her.
Arms around her. Tight. Desperate. Face buried in her shoulder.
And cried.
Not quiet. Not manly.
_Bitterly_.
Ripped out of him. Three years. Eighteen years. All of it.
_Servant boy._
_Not her type._
_Never was._
"I'm sorry," he choked out. Against her shirt. "I'm sorry, Cherry. I'm sorry I didn't— I should've—"
"Shh," Cherry said. Arms locked around him. Holding him up. Because he couldn't stand on his own. "Shh, I got you."
"She's right," Elian sobbed. "I'm nothing. I'm just— I'm just a—"
"You're not," Cherry said. Fierce. "You're not. You hear me? You're not nothing."
He shook his head. Crying harder. Soaking her shirt. "She looked at me like I was— like I was garbage, Cherry. Like I was—"
"I know," Cherry said. Hand in his hair. "I know, Best. I know."
_Best._
He broke again at that word.
Because she still called him that.
Even now.
When he was pathetic. When he was crying in a field like a boy.
When he was a _servant boy_.
Cherry didn't let go.
Didn't care that her feet were cut from the dirt. Didn't care that it was cold. Didn't care that he was heavy.
She just held him.
Rocked him a little. Like Lola used to do when he was nine and scraped his knee.
"I got you," she whispered. Over and over. "I got you, Elian. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I got you."
Elian clung to her. Like she was the only solid thing left.
Because she was.
The boy who waited eighteen years.
Finally let himself be held.
And Cherry held him.
Through every sob. Every shake. Every broken _I'm sorry_.
Until the moon moved.
Until his crying quieted.
Until he was just breathing.
Still in her arms.
Still broken.
But not alone.