Kaden felt relief wash over him when she said yes and he knew then that everything would be alright. Not hearing the other teachers clapping, he went from down on his knee to his full height without breaking the kiss. It intensified, and then he pulled back only slightly to look down at her, carefully, tenderly brushing her dark hair back from her temples and behind her ear.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, Cress. I had--" he closed his eyes briefly in a flash of remembered pain. "I had to be alone for a while. But I'll never do that to you again. I swear."