Promises
Constance sat down on her bed, her hand in her dress pocket, holding the promise rings. She was worried they were going to fall out and get lost, or Ocean would see them before the right moment and the surprise would be ruined, or any of the other million things that could go wrong. This was for Ocean, and it had to be perfect. Just like she was.
This was a big moment, even though Constance kept trying to convince herself it wasn’t. She told herself it was like the friendship bracelets they’d made when they were kids (which they both still had, Ocean’s was blue, Constance’s was pink, and they were in her top bedside drawer). Except they weren’t bracelets. And they didn’t represent friendship.
They represented so much more.
Those bracelets had meant friends forever, but these rings meant together forever.
They were a promise to be there, through anything. To be each other’s people. To stay side by side, hand in hand, facing the whole world together.
And that’s what Constance wanted.
Constance had never worried too much about the future, but she knew Ocean had hers all planned out. She’d had it that way for years. Hopefully, this wouldn’t be too much of a change, just another part of the plan. A new part.
Because when Ocean changed the world, Constance wanted nothing more than to be the one standing at her side. Supporting her, helping her, being her person to talk to. She wanted to be Ocean’s rock, the one she could go to when it was all too much, the one who kept her grounded.
Like she always had been.
One day, these promise rings would be replaced by wedding rings. Or, at least, she hoped so.
But that was looking too far ahead. Now, she just needed to figure out how to give this ring to Ocean and make it completely perfect and the best memory ever for her because she’s always going to remember it.
“Connie, are you okay?” Ocean asked, sitting down next to her, and Constance nodded.
“Of course!” Constance smiled reassuringly as she let go of the rings in order to take Ocean’s hand. “I’m okay. Totally okay. Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Ocean questioned curiously, looking unconvinced. “You seem weird.”
“Me? Weird?” Constance asked, faking a laugh. It only seemed to confuse Ocean more.
“Not in a bad way,” Ocean clarified. “But yes. Weird.”
As Constance was trying to think of an excuse, she remembered something.
“Oh! I need to go and sort some cupcakes, why don’t you find something to watch or do and I’ll join when I’m back?”
Ocean still looked concerned, but she nodded.
“Okay…” she murmured suspiciously. “But be back soon, okay?”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Constance promised, pressing a soft kiss to Ocean’s cheek before running downstairs.
She did actually she cupcakes to ice, but she could do that later. Right now, what she had was an idea. One that felt just right for her and Ocean.
She took a cupcake and took Ocean’s ring out of her pocket, cleaning it before placing it on top of the cake. Then, she piped the icing in a swirl over it, hiding the ring completely. It was perfect, a perfect little surprise. And she grabbed herself a cupcake too, rushing her own icing a bit, then she grabbed the cakes and ran up the stairs.
Before she even got to her room, she could hear Ocean’s Taylor Swift playlist blasting through her speakers.
She knew the song too. Love story. Perfect.
Constance walked in and put her cakes down on the bedside table, before turning to Ocean, who was standing in the middle of the room.
“I wanted to listen to music,” Ocean told her. “Is that okay?”
“Only if you’ll dance with me,” Constance said, reaching out to pull her girlfriend in so they could dance together. They sang loudly, danced wildly, and Constance twirled Ocean over and over, trying not to bounce or spin too much herself in case her ring fell out of her pocket.
She waited for the perfect moment, the right line in the song, and when they sang “marry me, Juliet”, Constance knelt on the ground and offered Ocean the cupcake as though it was a ring.
Little did Ocean know, it was.
Ocean giggled and sat down on the floor next to Constance, who went from kneeling to sitting quickly and picked up her own cupcake. She ripped the bottom half off, and placed it on top of the icing to make it easier to eat without causing a mess.
She checked her pocket before she started on the cake, and was relieved to find the ring still there.
Then she bit into her cake sandwich, and her mouth was filled with a strawberry and cream flavour. It tasted light and soft and sweet, and she loved it.
Ocean, on the other hand, was licking at the icing atop her own cupcake. Putting a ring in someone cake would always be a risk, but not with Ocean. She always licked off all of the icing before she ever bit it, which took forever, but it was so cute.
Even when they were kids, it was cute.
And now, it was even more adorable.
But nothing could compare to the moment when Ocean clearly realised something was up, because she looked awkwardly at the cake, then reached into the icing and pulled out the ring. She looked up at Constance, who smiled brightly. She grabbed a wipe from her dressing table and quickly wiped over the ring, before handing it wordlessly back to Ocean, who’d put her cupcake down beside her and accepted it quickly.
She examined it, reading the engraving inside.
“Constance’s sugar cloud,” she read aloud, before looking back at her girlfriend. “Connie, is this…?”
“A promise ring,” Constance nodded. “I understand if you don’t want it, or if you’re not ready, but I just wanted you to know I want to spend forever with you. I want to be part of your plan.”
Constance watched as tears filled Ocean’s eyes, but Ocean slipped the ring on her finger.
“Of course you’re part of my plan!” Ocean said shakily, throwing her arms around Constance, and Constance pulled her in tight. Ocean pulled away for a moment to press a soft kiss to Constance’s lips, then pulled up her hand to look at her ring.
It was silver, and patterned with pastel clouds, and the engraving on the inside was perfectly unique to Ocean.
“Do you have one?” Ocean asked, and Constance nodded, pulling her own ring out from her pocket. It had a matching pattern, but a different engraving.
“What does it say?” Ocean asked, having already recovered from her joyous tears and taking the ring from Constance’s hand and reading out the engraving. “Ocean’s cookie cuddler? I love it!”
“Well, I’m your cookie, and you’re constantly asking for cuddles,” Constance smiled, as Ocean took her hand to slide the ring onto her finger, as though she was the one proposing. The moment felt special. It felt right.
“I was going to make it say Ocean’s organ donor,” Constance joked, and Ocean cringed. “But I thought maybe you’d not like that one as much.”
“Connie, I’m so sorry about that, I didn’t mean it,” Ocean overflowed with apologies as she hugged Constance tightly. “Please forgive me.”
“I forgave you ages ago,” Constance laughed. “I’m just joking, I’m not mad, but good to know that works if I ever want something.”
“You don’t need to bring that up,” Ocean commented. “Ever again. Please. I’ll give you everything you want. Forever.”
“So, you’ll stop arguing with Noel?” Constance joked, and Ocean’s eyes widened.
“If I have to?” Ocean hesitated murmured, and Constance laughed harder.
“Don’t worry, joking again,” she clarified, and Ocean breathed a sigh of relief. “I’d never do that to you.”
“Good, because he’s so annoying,” Ocean laughed and kissed Constance’s cheek. “But I would do anything for you, cookie.”
“And I’d do anything for you,” Constance promised, and Ocean smiled and rested her hand on Constance’s so their rings were side by side.
“Does this make us future wives?” Ocean asked.
Constance had definitely thought of it that way, but not in those words. She liked the sound of them. She loved the idea.
“Yes,” Constance decided, putting a hand on Ocean’s cheek and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “You’re my future wife now.”