=Normal POV=
(Friday, 6/1/2018-7:00 pm)
(Archian Island, Berk)
(The Black Dragoon Restaurant)

Hunter couldn't help but think about Dimitri's words throughout his entire drive to pick up Nicole. Keith had said something like that too the day Hunter got released from the hospital, about not shutting people out and it was okay to ask for help if he needed it. Even Nicole mentioned a little something like that earlier, about being there for him. Why did everything think something was wrong? Yeah, he was upset, but who could blame him after the last year and a half he'd had? His mom dying in May 2017 from a disease that no knew about until the autopsy, the breakup with Ashley in December 2016 and being left no reasons as to why until recently, all those symptoms starting in October 2017, learning about the tumor in February 2018. Then there was the medical emergency of needing surgery to save his life, also costing him his big chance at a sports scholarship for college. Obviously now getting all the actual explanations for why Ashley left him; it was due to not loving him anymore after the first time they had sex, that she was actually dating and having sex with Bryan while still with Hunter to use him for sex, practicing for her times with Bryan.

How could Hunter not be upset about all that? And the stuff with Ashley was not only hurtful, but infuriating too. So maybe he was a little down lately, but everyone knew what he was going through and he'd recover physically and emotionally with time. Hunter was fine, he knew he was. Everyone dealt with strong emotions when they had to go through a lot. All he wanted to do tonight, now that he'd escaped the party, was spend time with his girlfriend to make up for their anniversary he missed while in the hospital. Hunter picked Nicole up at 6:35 pm, apologizing for being late because Shane and Travis were trying to stop him so he'd stay a bit longer with them. Nicole wasn't worried about it, and they headed to the restaurant chosen earlier, a Chinese cuisine called The Black Dragoon. Upon arriving; Hunter parked and the two got inside, then were seated right away with two menus and their drink order set.

"This is so nice…I love the décor." Nicole admired while looking around.

"I've always loved it, nice atmosphere too." Hunter said.

"So the party was boring?" Nicole chuckled a little.

"Terribly so. They used to be fun, but not this time. It felt more like an event with my dad, where everyone stands around with a drink in hand, talking in small groups." Hunter explained.

"Oh dear, you poor thing." Nicole smiled. "But in past parties, you weren't recovering from heart surgery and constantly tired or in pain."

"Exactly," Hunter nodded. "The pain meds help, but I still feel the dullness."

"I understand, babe. But hey, only four weeks left, right?" Nicole reminded.

"Thank the Gods. It'd be nice to not be tired all the time," Hunter replied. "So, what are you going to have?" He wondered while looking over the menu.

"Not sure yet, everything looks good. And oooh, they have peking dumplings. I love them fried." Nicole said.

"I do too, actually. Want to get some to split for an appetizer? I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I haven't eaten since lunch." Hunter stated.

"Sure, sounds good. As for dinner…The broccoli and chicken sounds great. Comes with small side of rice as well." Nicole said, looking over the menu. "What are you having?"

"What you said is actually what I usually get." Hunter informed.

"Well, in that case; I'm having what you're having." Nicole giggled, setting the menu down and then Hunter put his on top of hers. "So while we wait for our waiter to come back…What are you plans for the summer?"

"Not sure, probably working in the shop four to five days a week once I'm recovered. Glenn won't let me until I am." Hunter shrugged. "You?"

"Likely spend time at home, with friends, or you. Maybe decide what I want to do with my life." Nicole laughed a little. "Mom and dad said they'd pay for me to go to college, but not sure if I want to go. I like a lot of different things, so hard to choose just one I'd want to follow as a career."

"I get it. I narrowed my choices down to two…Major in Engineering, minor in Art." Hunter said. "You like music, and told me on one of the dates that you wanted to learn more about pitch, instruments, maybe even writing your own stuff…Why not major in music, babe?" Hunter suggested.

"Thought about it, still am." Nicole responded.

"You have some time to figure it out, I don't think they close down taking applications until August, just to ensure time for enrollment and starting in September." Hunter informed gently.

"Good to know." Nicole nodded with a smile. The waiter came over to set down the drinks, and then take their order. After that was done; the male headed off to put it in and check on other tables. "So…I wanted to ask something." She started after a few moments.

"What is it?" Hunter inquired after taking a sip of his drink.

"I was wondering if…Maybe you wanted to go to prom with me next week?" Nicole asked curiously, maybe a little shyly too. Hunter blinked at her, surprised because he thought they'd already decided to go.

"Babe, I asked you like two months ago if you wanted to go with me. Did you forget?" Hunter smiled.

"Well, no…I knew we discussed going to prom because we said we could…Save it for our first time together…" Nicole stated, trying not to blush too badly.

"Yeah, that's what I mean. We said we'd do it on prom night, so I assumed that meant we were going to prom together," Hunter chuckled some. "Why, having second thoughts?"

"No, no. I still want to. I just wasn't sure if you did because you've been all quiet and uninterested since surgery. When tickets went on sale, you didn't leave the table at all." Nicole said lightly.

Hunter laughed a bit as he leaned back in the booth to get something out of his pocket, Nicole couldn't see as his hands were hidden by the table. A moment later, Hunter held up two tickets as Nicole's eyes widened a bit. "I didn't leave the table when the others did because I already have them, babe. I grabbed the tickets when I got to school at 7:15; I'd left the house earlier than usual to get gas in the jeep at the not so busy gas station was by the school, so I ended up there ten minutes earlier than usual. I saw the signs about tickets being on sale, so I headed to the office and got them before meeting up with you guys at the breezeway hangout." Hunter enlightened with a smile.

"I feel silly now…" Nicole muttered, looking down bashfully. She shouldn't have assumed that because of his downed mood or that he didn't move from the table earlier today that he didn't get tickets to the prom they had said they were going to.

"It's alright, babe. You're fine; I kind of had anticipated you thinking I'd forgotten or didn't want to go anymore. That was part of the plan, so I could surprise you with them tonight and ask if you still wanted to go with me, and us have our first time." Hunter reached across the table to hold her hand. "So you still want to do this?"

"I do." Nicole nodded, looking at him softly.

"Then I'll talk to your dad when I drop you off tonight. Then only thing I want to know is where we're taking our after prom activities? My house, your house? Only asking because the request made by my dad and yours, different times of course, was that we give them a heads up of when it's happening and where to avoid any walk-ins or having to hear it." Hunter wondered.

"Well, prom gets out at 10 pm, right? Since some students are still seventeen and can't break curfew…My parents will likely be in bed by then. Not sure about your dad or Glenn. It honestly would feel a little weird in either home, due to the time it'd be at night of parents being home and with the warning that we're going to be having sex. It would be a very awkward next morning is all…" Nicole admitted.

"Then how about another option?" Hunter suggested as Nicole arched a brow. "The prom is being held at Berk Isle Palace, from 5-10 pm. What if…We just got ourselves a room there for the night?"

Nicole's eyes widened a little, and she was sure she was blushing at the thought of spending an entire night with Hunter in one of Berk's fanciest hotels. "Hunter…That place is so expensive, and would our parents even allow it?" She asked.

"Don't see why not, and you just stated reasons for why they wouldn't mind," Hunter replied. "You're right, it'd be awkward for us and them if we had sex for the first time in either of our homes with them home when we do it. My first time, Dad and Glenn were out at some get together with friends, I think. Either way…I just think the hotel would remove that weirdness, and maybe give it a little more of a romantic feel. And don't worry about price, Nikki…It's prom night, and our planned first time making love. One night won't break the bank for me. So what do you say?" He asked now.

Nicole smiled to him; it was a good idea and very romantic. Nicole nodded to him in agreement. "Okay. Okay, let's do it." She said.

"I'll talk to your dad tonight, and as long as that doesn't hit any snags; I'll book the room tomorrow morning." Hunter smiled back.

With that settled, their appetizer had come and they got started on eating the dumplings while conversating about different things. One of the topics touched, which thankfully didn't change Hunter's mood as it was about what happened at school earlier with Nicole and Ashley, was Nicole telling Hunter the last thing she said to Ashley before going to locate him for a ride home and making sure he was okay. Needless to say, Hunter was surprised, but a little bit happy as well to know that Nicole told Ashley that she would be able to give Hunter what he deserved to have that Ashley failed to give him. Hunter thanked Nicole for what she said, and then it went back onto happier topics for the remainder of their meal.

. . .

(9:30 pm)
(Strondsen Home)

Nicole and Hunter reached her house for 9:30 pm, so that he could drop her off and talk to her father about the sex on prom night situation. Hunter would go home for 10 pm, as he'd need to take another pain pill in order to be able to sleep through the night without his chest hurting as it still did while laying down; he hoped it would fade more in the coming weeks. Hunter walked Nicole to the door as she let them both inside, finding her parents sitting in the living room.

"Ah, welcome back." Keith smiled to the teenager.

"Hi, Dad. Hi, Mom." Nicole greeted as Hunter smiled and waved.

"Did you two have fun on your date?" Ella inquired.

"It was great. Hunter took us to a Chinese place about fifteen minutes away, awesome food. And Hunter taught me how to use chopsticks." Nicole said gently, still holding Hunter's hand.

"Then we killed time at the park, walking around before getting ice cream." Hunter added in.

"Sounds lovely." Ella beamed, clearly happy to hear such stories and see her daughter with a good man.

"Wonderful. Will you be heading home or staying for a bit, possibly all night?" Keith questioned curiously.

"It's up to you, babe. If you want to stay over that is?" Nicole looked at him.

"The offer is nice, and I'd love to if I had prior knowledge it was allowed for me to spend the night with you. Unfortunately, I don't have a change of clothes, or my pain meds…Which the last dose I took is going to wear off in about half an hour. Rain check on it, if I can hold on to the offer and use it another night?" Hunter looked to Keith now.

"That's fine, son. The offer is always there, it's not a one-time deal." Keith smiled. "We trust you." He added as Ella nodded.

"Good to know and happy to hear that," Hunter smiled as Nicole and him looked at one another a moment; he still needed to talk to Keith about prom night. "Uh, while I'm here, though…Can you and I talk, Keith?" Heavily implied that this was meant to be a private conversation and Keith picked up on it.

"Is this a doctor/patient conversation, or father/boyfriend?" Keith inquired.

Hunter thought about it a moment. "Little bit of both?" He said, unsure if that answer was acceptable. Keith smiled, nodding as he got up and motioned for Hunter to follow.

"We'll talk in my office upstairs then," Keith said. Hunter kissed Nicole's cheek before releasing her hand and following Keith to his upstairs office space. Once they got inside and Keith shut the door; the two of them sat down on the couch. "Alright, so which talk is happening first?" He asked calmly.

"I guess the boyfriend to father one…" Hunter replied.

"Okay, go ahead." Keith invited.

"There's no other way to say this than blunt…But Nicole and I want to go all the way on prom night next Saturday." Hunter stated in a serious tone, but not cold or demanding, just that he felt he shouldn't hesitate anything to give the impression he was nervous despite the fact he was. Hunter didn't have to do this with Ashley because her dad never knew they had sex, as far as Hunter knew at least. Keith just looked at him.

"I'm not sure how this going to sound, but I honestly for one, thought you'd be doing it anyway. Most couples do, if their ready to; it's like prime time for it. Or at least it was back in my day. And two, figured you'd just send me a text." Keith replied as Hunter blinked a little. "I understand that took you by surprise, but understand from my view that Nicole is my only daughter, it's senior prom, and I know she loves you deeply. Coupled by the fact, as I stated before, that you two have been together for six months." He added.

Hunter shook off the shock of what he was told. "I…Do get it, but I had no intention of sleeping with her on prom night, originally." Hunter said.

"What do you mean, this was a joint decision, wasn't it?" Keith asked.

"Well, yes. But the thing is, and keeping to honesty here; Nicole asked me to sleep with her back before I even had the surgery," Hunter admitted. "It was when we were here, you and Ella were out in April. Nikki and I were spending the day together on the 22nd, since we had school on the 23rd. She asked if I'd make love to her that night, and I said no because I had promised you that I'd let you know before we did anything sexual."

"Appreciated that you remembered what I asked of you, but regardless…Continue, please?" Keith motioned.

"Basically, after a small discussion about factors in the matter; we decided to wait until June because I wanted to talk with you first about my medical side of having sex. In the sense of wondering if it would be safe, because this was something talked about while I still had the tumor and the surgery would have been in June originally. But also to give you more than fair warning we were planning to have sex." Hunter informed. "We figured to wait til June for the sake of warning you as agreed, but also school wouldn't be an issue, and I'd know if it was safe to do with the tumor."

"Alright, makes sense. But still; a text would have sufficed." Keith smiled.

"I felt that if you requested of me to forewarn you that your daughter and I would be having sex, I should at least be respectful and come to you in person about it." Hunter said gently.

"I do appreciate you saying it in person; it shows you have courage, bravery, and respect." Keith nodded. "It takes a man to approach his girlfriend's father to tell him that he wants to sleep with her, so I respect you more for coming to me and taking face to face." He added.

"I always secretly felt wrong that my ex-girlfriend and I never told anyone; mine and her first time was completely random when we were alone at my dad's house. Her parents, to this day I think, still don't know that we did it. She was never on birth control; I only used condoms. Regardless, though…My dad found out on his own because he came home right as we finished and walked in finding us in the bed together. Didn't take much to put together what we'd done. Dad, now, just asks that I shoot him a message so he doesn't come home to hearing anything or walking in." Hunter confessed. "I know I have yours and Ella's trust, so I didn't want to break that by simply shooting you a message that Nicole and I decided to have sex out of the blue. Plus, you asked for at least a week's warning…Hence why I'm saying something to you eight days in advance."

"I very much admire your forwardness, Hunter. It's why my wife and I trust you with our daughter; you're an honest guy with a good head on his shoulders. You have morals that you don't like to cross, and feel guilty if you do. You have respect for others by abiding agreements, and preferring face to face confrontation. That being said, regarding the subject of you two having sex; I'm fine with it happening on prom night. I know Nicole is on birth control, and that you keep condoms on you. All I ask is that you go at her pace; I'm not sure if she's told you-," Keith began.

"She told me about her ex-boyfriend and what happened." Hunter confirmed. "And I will only move at her pace. If she says stop, I will. If she decides last minute that she doesn't want to, it's fine with me. That's not the kind of guy I am." Hunter said firmly.

"Then you two having sex next week is completely fine with me, and thank you for approaching me about the matter." Keith said calmly.

"You're welcome…There's two others things about the subject I wanted to ask about. One stays in boyfriend to father, the other shifts to doctor/patient. First is that because of the time we'd be getting around to leaving prom to do this…It's going to be past 10 pm, that's when prom ends. I suspect it'll be busy to leave the hotel and by the time we arrived here, or my place; it'll be about 10:30-11 pm. Obviously, we don't want to keep either you and your wife up, or my dad…So we thought it might be better to just…Stay at the hotel for the night?" Hunter suggested.

"I was actually going to suggest the same idea, only for the sake of maybe making it a little more romantic. But with the point you brought up on timeframes….Staying at the hotel seems like the safer, romantic, and if I can add, respectful option. As you're thinking of all involved in this. So yes, you have my permission to do this at the hotel that night. Now…What's your doctor/patient inquiry regarding the sexual matter?" Keith wondered.

"Is it safe for me to have sex?" Hunter asked.

Keith rubbed his chin now. "Next Saturday will mark…Three weeks post-surgery, correct?" He asked as Hunter nodded. "I don't see why it wouldn't be safe as long as you're not suffering from anything. I meant that in the means of breathing and pain." Keith said. "So what I'm saying is that I think you should be fine. A few suggestions, though; try not to not lay flat, and not have weight on your chest. I would also advise one of your pain killers about half an hour before, time to let it kick in and get you through the night. If you do all that and find yourself still in pain or having some trouble breathing normally; I suggest changing positions that feel better for you, and give yourself a few moments to find your breathing. Beyond that, I'd go to the hospital to find out what's going on." Keith offered. "Or if it would make you feel better because I saw the nervousness on your face just now at the mention of going to the hospital…Why don't we bump your re-check appointment from Monday the 11th to Friday the 8th? We'll do a little imaging, plus the normal check and that can set you at some ease to know you're recovering well."

"That sounds good. What time?" Hunter wondered.

"How long will your graduation things run that night?" Keith asked.

"I think just until normal school day ending time. All the extra and late stuff is the following week, so I should be free after 2:30 pm." Hunter said.

"Alright, let's…Shoot for 3:00 pm? Does that work?" Keith questioned.

Hunter nodded to him. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Excellent then. Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?" Keith smiled.

"That was it," Hunter replied with a nod. Keith stood up and shook his hand. "Thank you for helping and trusting me."

"You're welcome, and thank you for being so honest with me." Keith responded.

"You're welcome." Hunter smiled back. The two exited the office and returned downstairs, Nicole was sitting with her mother and changed into her pajama's already.

"Heading off now, lad?" Keith questioned.

"Yeah. Gonna grab a shower, get comfortable, take a pain killer and fall asleep." Hunter chuckled. Nicole got up and hugged him gently, Hunter returned it as they shared a kiss.

"Let me know once you're home?" Nicole asked.

"Always. Love you, Milady." Hunter stated.

"Love you too, babe." Nicole kissed him again before Hunter bid the three of them a goodnight and left the house to get home.

Exactly as he planned; he greeted his father and godfather, then let Nicole know he was home safely before getting to his room for a shower. Hunter didn't take long; then he slipped on his sleep pants, took his pain medication and laid in bed. Hunter said his goodnight and I love you to Nicole before relaxing and falling asleep by 10:30 pm.