“You sure you don’t want to go back inside? It warm out tonight.”

“’S fine.”

Heat waves were no fun. Being nations that thrived in winter conditions for centuries, temperatures hitting the mid-30 degree Celsius mark were not exactly their cup of tea. A day or two was not bad. But a whole week was a little much. But nevertheless, it didn’t stop Estonia and Sweden from enjoying a quiet night under a clear sky, far away from the busyness of the city.

Estonia remembers well when he first met the Swede. Seeing his face for the first time got him trembling uncontrollably and desperately tried not to say the wrong things and step on his toes. There were times he had thought the man wanted to kill him whenever he looked down at him. But centuries had passed and he discovered that Sweden wasn’t as terrifying as he had made him out to be. He wouldn’t lie, he still startled him from time to time but he began seeing what Finland saw; a man who was shy and simply didn’t know how to talk to others. Their friendship wasn’t perfect. Estonia sometimes didn’t understand Sweden’s body language and Sweden was sometimes distant towards him for fear he was invading his personal space and didn’t want to say the wrong things. But at the end of the day, they had a bond that was stronger than what most believed. Add Finland to the mix and you had a group dynamic that was not like others. Their bond was as strong as strong as steel and while it hadn’t always been the case, time has healed old wounds. They were stronger together than they were alone. It just felt right when they were together.

But tonight it was just him and Sweden, sitting in lawn chairs on Estonia’s back porch. Estonia knew he had a loyal friend sitting next to him and Sweden was happy to have anyone in his life that understood him and he was part of that little group. The peaceful moment almost had Estonia dozing off but some shuffling noises next to him caught his attention. He turned to his friend and was greeted to something that always warmed his heart.

Sweden smiled at him.

He saw him raise his drink and said “Skål.” Estonia immediately followed suit and said “Terviseks!” enthusiastically. The sound of glass echoed between them and they each drank up what was left of their drinks. It didn’t matter what season it was. It was moments like these that he cherished the most between them. He only wished that others would give Sweden the same chance that he had. They didn’t know what they were missing.