Estonia was surprised to see Sweden pop over to her table.

“Do ya have a few minutes t'chat?”

She gave Sweden a soft and reassuring look, “Of course,” she replied as Sweden took the seat across the table from her.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Mhm…” Sweden looked away shyly and struggled to find her words. Estonia quickly noticed this and tried to push her to talk.

“You said you wanted to talk but you’re not saying much.” Estonia then saw her cheeks flush to a light pink. It didn’t take long for her to realize what this was about.

“It’s about Finland, isn’t it?”

Sweden gasped lightly as if she was surprised that Estonia guessed correctly, even though she shouldn’t have. Her own actions were obvious enough. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and was pacing her head back and forth around the room as if she was making sure no one was looking. Sweden then reached inside the left pocket of her black jacket and pulled out a small box and left it in the middle of the table. Estonia’s eyes widened. She knows exactly what this was about.

“So you’ve decided...?”

Sweden nodded as Estonia took and opened the box. Inside was your typical, standard, diamond ring. Estonia was hoping for something more personal but she knew Finland wouldn’t care. A ring is a ring at the end of the day and a gift from Sweden was one to be cherished for centuries to come.

“It’s beautiful. She will love this for sure,” Estonia said as she returned the box to Sweden.

“Ya but...”

“But what?”

“What if she says ‘no’?”

Estonia stared at her in disbelief, “You’re joking right? You two have been a couple since I was occupied by Russia, you both act like parental figures to Sealand and Ladonia, and share your homes to each other, and you tell me that she may not want to marry you?”

She stood up in her seat and glared at Sweden with a look that partially frightened her.

“Sweden, you are already married to her. And if you don’t propose to her yourself, I will take that ring and do it for you.”

At the end of the week, Estonia received a long text message garbled with broken English and Finnish. She didn’t need to read it to know Sweden finally took her advice and made the decision herself. Now all she had to do was wait for the invite.