CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 350 ETHEREAL KISS

Four days had passed since Milo had been admitted. Four long, quiet days that somehow felt like a small lifetime inside the soft walls of XT Healing Hospital. The red rain tapped gently at the wide window by his bed, making little rivulets trickle down the glass like thin crimson threads. Milo sat propped up on his pillow, his hands folded on his lap as he watched the world blur outside.

He blinked when he felt a familiar warmth, that soft hush of steps that always made him feel safe. He turned his head just a little, his shy smile blooming when he saw Ruby standing there, carefully putting her heavy raincoat bag down in the corner.

Tomorrow she was taking him and the others to see the movie she’d worked on. He knew how hard she’d spoken to the healer to make sure he’d be well enough for the outing. It made his chest feel warm in a way the hospital blankets never could.

"You should take rest," Ruby said, her voice soft as she stepped closer to his side. She brushed her fingers through his hair, smoothing it where it stuck up.

Milo’s smile stayed as he turned back to the rain, his cheek pressing into her hand just a little. "But I like seeing the rain," he said, his voice warm, almost dreamy. "It’s pretty when it falls like this... I feel like it washes the bad things away."

Ruby looked at him, at that gentle curve of his lips and the quiet spark in his tired eyes. Four days, and yet he still managed to smile like that. Her heart ached in the best way. She pulled the chair closer and sat down beside him, her hand never leaving his hair.

He took a deep breath then, the question slipping out of him like a secret he’d been holding too tight. "Wife... will I get better?" His eyes searched hers, the shadows of the healer’s words flickering at the back of his mind — the hole in your heart is big. He didn’t want to say it out loud again. But it lingered anyway, like the distant rumble of thunder behind the rain.

Ruby cupped his soft cheeks in both hands, her thumbs brushing the edge of his pale jaw. She leaned in, their foreheads almost touching, her eyes clear and warm. "Yes, sweetheart. You will get better. You’re brave and strong — stronger than you think."

He let out a tiny breath, his lashes trembling. But the fear didn’t go away completely. He fiddled with the blanket, voice so soft it almost got lost under the steady pitter-patter of the red rain on the glass.

"...But what if I die, wife?" he asked, and the question made her heart clench so tight she almost forgot how to breathe. "Will you... marry a new ghost?" He blinked up at her, his eyes so wide, so honest, his lips quivering with the smallest sad smile. "It’s okay if you do... I just want you to be happy..."

"Shhh..." Ruby whispered. She pressed her fingertip to his soft lips, silencing the tremble in his words. His eyes widened, lashes fluttering as he looked at her startled and a little bashful.

"You’re not going to die easily, silly ghost," she said, her voice warm but so fierce it melted the fear in the room. "You’re going to rest, get stronger, and live a long, sweet life. And you’ll stay right here with me for a very long time."

Outside, the rain kept its gentle song — pitter, pitter, pitter as if the sky itself was blessing the small promise that wrapped around their joined warmth.

Milo swallowed, his throat bobbing shyly. He looked at her for a moment, studying the softness of her eyes, the curve of her lips, the warmth in her touch. His own hands slipped up to rest over hers on his cheeks.

"...Wife," he whispered, voice so sweet it made her chest ache. "Can I... can I have something?"

Ruby tilted her head, brushing his nose lightly with her fingertip. "Anything. What do you want, darling?"

Milo’s cheeks went pink, his lashes fluttering as he tried to say it without hiding behind his blanket. "Can you... can you kiss me?" His voice was so shy, so quiet but it felt like the truest thing he’d ever asked for.

Ruby blinked, a tiny laugh escaping her as her heart stuttered in her chest. She hadn’t expected it — not from sweet, soft Milo, who always hid his own wants so deep. The warmth in her chest bloomed into a bright, gentle smile as she leaned forward, cupping his face a little tighter.

"Of course," she breathed, her lips brushing his forehead first, then his soft cheek. And finally — she pressed a slow, warm kiss to his lips, tasting the faintest salt of his shy tears.

The moment Ruby’s lips touched his, Milo felt like his whole tiny world shrank to just that warm, breathless space between them.

He felt her soft sigh as she kissed him, gentle, careful, like she was kissing something precious she was afraid to break. Her hands cupped his cheeks, thumbs brushing against the tips of his ears, sending little shivers down his spine.

When she pulled back just a little, he could feel her breath mixing with his. Milo let out the softest, shaky exhale, his eyes fluttering open halfway — only to close again when she leaned in and pressed her lips to his once more, this time slower, deeper, like a quiet promise that he wasn’t alone, not for a single heartbeat.

He felt... ethereal. That was the only word his sleepy, fragile mind could find. Like he was floating somewhere above the heavy blankets, above the sterile smell of the hospital, above the soft hum of the machines that beeped near his ear.

The rain outside drummed gently against the window — pitter, pitter, pitter like it was keeping a soft rhythm just for them. The warmth of her kiss chased away every tiny fear that had been tucked into the corners of his heart.

—To be continued...🪄