((AN: Sooo, surprise! Another new story, and hopefully even a new series of one-shots. :3

So, you guys may know (and what fan doesn't at this point?), another favorite Nickelodeon show from my childhood has recently had its very-ultra-long-awaited conclusion in the form of Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie back in November, with the DVD coming out right soon if it's not already. And considering how excited I was for it, amazed to watch it, and finding it pretty reasonably perfect, I've been gripped with a re-obsession for the show, and I must have watched the entire series again about three times. And my head has been throwing me several story ideas on top of it, while I've been looking for some good fics to read.

So now, I finally decided to cave in and write one of mine, after convincing myself that writing a Hey Arnold! fanfic would not be a sacrilege, but instead a tribute to memorable work of art from the 90's. It's time to see if I can keep these guys in-character as well as I have the Gaang. x3 Helga in particular will be interesting; I love writing her sassy attitude, but even though I've been known to wax poetic, I'm not nearly as dramatic as she is, so I'll have to be cheesy on purpose for her monologues. XD But here's to hoping that this first attempt is enjoyable. She's also an interesting character psychologically, and may spawn some interesting ideas, thus.

And of course I had to make the first story emotional and shippy (my specialty, I think xP), because Arnold and Helga have long been on my list of canon ships that will surely be the death of me it's so freakin' sweet. XD I have a few other story ideas written down, but if you guys want to send me ideas or prompts, be my guest, and I'll consider them. =) I'm still gripped by this show, so I'm gonna ride this train for as long as I can!

Fun fact; at one point I considered taking out Brainy's appearance, but, randomness like that is what made the show funny, so hey, might as well keep it. x3

Enjoy! All characters and Hillwood belong to Craig Bartlett; I'm just playing in his sandbox. ^.^ ))


All Just A Dream?

"Hey-Arnold! Hey-Arnold! Hey-Arnold!"

Arnold groaned as, without moving anything else, he sleepily let his hand reach up to unplug the wire of his alarm clock from its potato charger. I should remember to turn that off for summer vacation, he thought to himself as he tried to rise out of his last dreams.

And they'd been very familiar, very sad dreams, at that. He'd been on another grand adventure alongside his parents, in their plane...only to leave him to fly it as they'd suddenly parachuted out and down into a misty expanse, where he could no longer see them...and no longer ever find them...so many different ways that the dreams went, but they all ended up the same way.

He shook his head and sat up, wiping the remnants of tears that had been shed in the night out of his eyes. I'm STILL having those dreams. Why am I STILL having those dreams? My parents...they're not gone anymore.

...Are they? A flash of adrenaline made his eyes widen, waking him up with a further jolt.

Indeed, it had only been a couple of days since they made it back home from San Lorenzo. Back in their old familiar neighborhood, full of old familiar sights and sounds that reassured every one of the slightly-traumatized kids that they'd gotten through that harrowing adventure, it was time for them to get back to their normal lives (or try to) and enjoy the rest of summer vacation before stepping into their new grade level at school. For Arnold, though, his reality seemed to just be a little more surreal since that day; his subconscious just couldn't seem to believe it.

...San Lorenzo couldn't have all been a dream too, could it? He was grimacing, before he shook his head violently. No, it couldn't have been. It was far too real...and I think I still have bruises from fighting off La Sombra. His eyes shut tight against the fervent, clear memory of his last dream. That's it. I HAVE to get downstairs and see...!

Quickly dressing himself, Arnold all but rushed straight down the attic stairs and into the hall, following the voices of everyone who had to be awake at that hour of the morning.

And, amid the earnest voices of his grandparents, there were indeed two that seemed so new to his ears after so many years without hearing them...

The boy was running so fast by this point that he came to a skid just before he reached the kitchen door, overshot it, hit a wall corner, and turned himself around to rush back through the door again.

There in the kitchen, he seemed to have interrupted a conversation with all the members of his immediate family gathered together at the breakfast table; the boarders hadn't yet woken up, having not smelled any breakfast being made. For once, his grandmother looked solemn and happy (as opposed to happy and playing up her eccentricities) as she fussed with his father's collar like a concerned mother would, while Arnold's mother listened with a fond smile to his grandfather try to find stories to tell about the neighborhood that they'd missed.

But all at once, they turned to see Arnold in the doorway with a wide ear-to-ear smile and eyes that looked about to tear up with joy again. "You guys are here...it wasn't a dream...!" he exclaimed with a broken voice.

"Well, mornin' Short Man," said Phil with a cheerful wave as he seemed to overlook the boy's overly-relieved attitude. "What kinda energy got into you today? Y'about tore the door off!"

His parents, however, had caught his mood instantly and gestured him over. "Arnold, sweetie, you had a bad dream?" Stella asked as she wrapped her son in her arms. "Is everything okay?"

"...Yeah..." he sniffed and just lost himself in his parents' touch, her mother's arms around him and his father's hand in his hair. "Yeah, I'm okay now...I'm just...glad we're all back..."

"We're glad to be back, son..." Miles said in a soothing voice, "And we're here to stay this time, we promise."

"Definitely," Stella agreed. "With the medicine we made, I doubt that the Green-Eyes will have any trouble with the Sleeping Sickness and need us back all that soon."

"Oh, now, don't go saying things like that," Phil suddenly piped up, "Y'might just jinx it."

"C'mon, Pops..." Miles rolled his eyes. "Don't be so superstitious."

"Boy, if yer not superstitious, then I didn't raise ya right! Listen, y'know how I got to live this long? I take every precaution. Y'never know what might happen..."

"Considering the luck I've had while married to this goof, I might just start to agree," Stella deadpanned.

Her husband nudged her playfully. "Hey! I haven't been that bad...have I?"

"I still owe you AND Eduardo a few punches..."

"Heheheh!" Phil laughed heartily. "Ohh, it's good t' have ya back, Stella...boy still needs to be kept in line, eh?"

"Just like his father," Gertie added with a grin.

"Yeah, just like...heeey," he gave his wife a sideways glare, to which she just had a proud smirk.

And Arnold, listening to this conversation as closely as he could, just took in every moment of it with his smile still refusing to leave his face. This is going to be an interesting summer...and rest of my life...


Meanwhile, just outside of one of the windows of the boarding house looking through into the kitchen, Helga Pataki was carefully camouflaged in the shadows of the side alley, just peering in at the goings-on and trying to catch a glimpse of Arnold among his family.

What she did finally see was her beloved in the arms of his parents once again, looking happier and more fulfilled than she'd ever seen him.

"Huh...yeah, there's his parents...so it wasn't all a dream after all," she murmured to herself and dropped away from the window.

Indeed, while Arnold had been constantly wondering why his dreams kept plaguing him with visions of having never found his family, Helga had been just barely convinced that the whole adventure had been real, herself. Traipsing through the jungle, escaping a vicious band of river pirates, solving puzzles leading to a hidden city, saving the people within said city (with her locket? Talk about crazy), reuniting Arnold with parents who had not abandoned him, but had merely been caught by the sickness and was just sleeping all that time...

And then there was, to her, the least plausible memory of all: Arnold fulfilling all of her hopes and actually, really, truly returning her feelings, sealed with a sweet but simple MUTUAL for Pete's sake kiss.

Even after a couple of days home with some real rest, it was still taking Helga a little time to process everything. She'd ducked out of the Beeper Emporium quite early that morning, barely eating anything for breakfast except for what she could grab from the convenience store, in order to make her way to the boarding house; firstly to see for herself whether or not she was still in a long dream...mission accomplished, she wasn't.

And secondly, she hoped to catch Arnold just to try to talk to him, properly, after a lot of mustering her confidence to do so (pretty much from the whole time after they were reunited with all of the other kids and adults until they got home, Helga had held back from talking much at all with him; he'd been so engrossed in having his parents back, she thought he'd deserved that time with them).

"Still, maybe part of it was a dream, and the other parts are real...oh, who am I kidding?" she kept speaking aloud to herself as she wound up walking around to the front of the boarding house, leaning on the banister. With a quick glance around, Helga grabbed her heart-shaped locket from in her shirt and tenderly held the sides, looking at the jagged and previously-torn picture inside with a small pout. "Oh, Arnold, my muse, my love...how I can still feel it so vividly, remember it so well, the press of your lips upon mine in true gratitude for my deeds...how I remember your sweet words, your sincere praise...! But I curse my wretched subconscious as it teases me in my sleep with the same visions...how am I yet to know what is real? I must know once and for all, whether or not your pure heart is now as mine...as mine, pure as you believe it is, has always been yours..."

Helga breathed out a long sigh. Her fingers lightly ran over the locket's gold-plated sides, and she could catch a few little scratches that it had received from being placed inside the giant cure-dispensing machine. She decided to move to sit on top of the railing of his stoop. "May fate grant me that chance today, if it has been so kind as to truly grant me that kiss..."

With that, she swooned and let her gaze run up to the sky, now starting to wonder whether she should just wait for him to come out...or knock...or even just get off the boy's stoop and save the idea for later...


Thankfully for Helga, the decision would soon already be made for her.

"We should do something today after breakfast," Stella suggested as she and Miles followed Arnold into the front room, near the door. "There's so much of this neighborhood we haven't seen in years."

"Yeah, sheesh; it was bad enough seeing how it changed after we came back the first time," Miles grimaced and rolled his eyes up in thought, rubbing the back of his neck. "But after almost ten years, I'm wondering what's still here at all."

Arnold was chuckling; he was prepared to find any idea at all from his parents just the greatest, because he'd be going along with them, catching up and doing things together. He didn't know exactly how he could be much happier, just thinking about it.

"Sounds great to me, Mom and Dad...there's a lot of things I could show you just around walking distance. Mighty Pete, Gerald Field..." he began, almost about to open the door for the animals, when he suddenly caught sight of movement out of one of the windows next to the stairs. His eyes widened in surprise when they fell upon Helga, sitting and leaning back on his stoop banister, looking lost in thought (and looking at her locket, at that).

Okay...I guess one thing makes me a bit happier now too, Arnold thought as he recalled the entirety of Helga's involvement in their adventure; her bravery, her brilliance, every act of ultimate selflessness...despite her rough personality, he'd seen Helga on that journey as she truly was, which only cemented the feelings that he'd been building for her for some time beforehand.

I really haven't talked to her lately, since we got back...really, since that night we kissed...I'd like to talk to her again...hopefully if she's in a mood for it. She looks like it...holding that locket of me...beneath his notice, his face was starting to warm, and he looked almost positively smitten.

This fact, of course, didn't go unnoticed by his parents. "Oh, hey, looks like a familiar face came to visit!" Stella hummed as she too looked out of the window, casting her son a bit of a teasing grin. "We could invite her in for breakfast..."

Miles chuckled and patted his son's shoulder, further bringing him out of his stupor. "Heh, yeah, the more, the merrier. And we'd like to meet more of your friends, anyway!"

Before anyone could open the door and address the girl on the other side, however, Arnold immediately jumped between them. "A-actually, I think I should talk to Helga..." he ventured, very aware of how he must be blushing at that moment. "...Alone...just for a second. We have a few things we kinda have to discuss...I-I can guess that's why she might've stopped by."

"Aha..." Miles exchanged a small smile with Stella and gave Arnold a wink. "Gotcha. Take your time, and don't worry, we'll have breakfast waiting when you're done."

"Be sure to invite Helga, too," Stella added.

Arnold rolled his eyes, willing the red to leave his face as he reached up to open the door. "Heh, alright, I will."


Outside right then, Helga had just about made up her mind to at least knock, when she was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a familiar faraway sound, swiftly coming closer. She'd been around Arnold's place enough now to know that it was, in fact, a stampede of the various animals that had decided to call the boarding house home.

"Aaah!" Helga yelped and leaned back against the far edge of the banister, watching as the various dogs and cats (and Abner), and some exotic animals that had stowed away from San Lorenzo (and a bat for some reason), all rushed up the stairs to make a beeline for the door as it was opening.

By the time the stampede was over and Arnold was free to peer outside, he almost laughed when he saw the blonde girl barely hanging off the other side of the banister by a hand and a leg, having overshot the leap to get away from the fray.

He kept it in, though, as he immediately reached over to grab her hand and help her back up. "Yikes; Helga, you okay?"

"Yeah, just peachy-keen, I get almost trampled by animals every day; what's it look like, Football Head? Sheesh!" she exclaimed and used his hold to scramble back onto the surface of the concrete rail. "What's with all those things anyway? They pets or something?"

Arnold chuckled. "Actually, Abner's the only real pet...the rest of them are kinda feral. Grandma and Grandpa and some of the boarders like to feed them, though, so that's why they're around on a regular basis. You kinda get used to it; Gerald can dodge them without getting a single mark on him."

Helga scoffed and hopped from the banister onto the top stair of the stoop, brushing the dust off her arms. "Good for Geraldo..." she muttered, letting out a sigh and looking over her clothes. "No lasting damage, though."

"That's good," said Arnold, and when she looked back at him, he was giving her his usual kind smile, although there seemed to be a dash of shyness in his eyes. "So, um...what brings you here?"

She crossed her arms. "Well, not that it's any of your business or anything..." she tried not to meet his eyes, lest she find herself barely finding her words, as she was doing now. "But, I was just passing by, and I thought I'd..." she scuffed her shoe on the ground. "Y'know...see how things were doing...and that maybe if you were...um..."

"See if maybe I was free to talk?" Arnold supplied for her, noticing her slight discomfort. She's trying to keep her walls up again, I think...but I can be patient. "I was...actually wondering just before I came out if you were too."

Helga looked back at him, blinking. "Er...really? W-well...n-now that you mention it...I could probably spare a few minutes...considering I've got nothing better to do I mean..."

"Alright, sounds good," Arnold said, taking a step slightly closer, his hands shyly clasped behind his back. "What'd you wanna talk about?"

Good grief, what don't I wanna talk about? Helga thought. Here I am now with the boy I adore more than anything, and I can't seem to force a single word out...though, it looks like he can't either...makes me feel a little better.

Suddenly, before Helga could think of anything to say, she straightened up and glanced around. "Say, um...do you get the feeling we're being watched?"

Arnold looked confused for half a second, before catching a glimpse of one of the windows behind them, overlooking the stoop. His parents were both peering out at them, but they seemed to be trying a little too hard to be inconspicuous, as upon being discovered they dropped out of sight again.

"...Yeah, I do; that's because we are," Arnold said with a bit of a sigh. "I think my parents are trying to eavesdrop."

Helga slapped her forehead. "Oh, for Pete's sake..." she said with a bit of an annoyed snort. I'll probably STILL never get a ding-blasted minute alone with him, knowing my luck.

He rolled his eyes and gave the window where they'd been a not-so-serious glare, making a "cut it out" motion across his throat before taking Helga by the wrist. "C'mon...I think I know where we won't be bothered."

"Heh, fat chance...but, lead on, Football Head," she acquiesced as she allowed Arnold to pull her off the stoop and into the side alley next to the boarding house, while trying not to swoon in the process. I shall go wherever you wish us to, my liege...

It was a short walk through the morning-lit shadows of the side alley, where they eventually came upon the gate which led into the small backyard space of the house, walled off except for beside the garage. Once there, Arnold let go of Helga for a second to fiddle with the gate's latch.

"Your backyard?" she questioned, looking around and trying to peer above the fence. "You sure we won't be watched? Last I checked, there were still plenty of windows facing into it."

"Yeah," he nodded in agreement as he got it open, "But, nobody ever needs to come out here this time of day, and it's not like any of the boarders will need to look out this side. And it's quiet. We'll be able to hear the floor inside the door creaking if someone's coming." He got a sheepish look to him though once they peered inside and saw the somewhat-unkempt look of the grass. He still stepped back and allowed her in first with a gesture. "I know it's not much to look at, but..."

"Pff, like I live in ritzy digs myself..." Helga waved him off as she took his invitation to step inside, her voice dropping to a mutter. "At least you have a real room, not a re-purposed storage room..." She shook her head and returned to her normal speaking voice. "Anyway, me and the other kids have been here like a dozen times, you know."

"I know..." he hummed and scratched the back of his head as he watched her sit on the step of the back porch, and then turned to re-latch the gate. "It just...seemed a bit of a different situation right now, I guess...with just you and me here."

Helga couldn't help a short, goofy smile appearing on her face as she spaced out for a second. My poor, shy little football-head, he's ACTUALLY worried about what I think of his place! Would that I had the courage to tell him that I don't CARE how it looks, I'd stick around for eternity if I could choose to do so...

Remembering quickly where she was as Arnold sat next to her, she awkwardly cleared her throat. "Eh, it's not that different. Anyway, it's as good a place as any, if your parents aren't gonna keep trying to listen in..." she snickered. "You guys must still be practically attached to each other right now, huh?"

"Well, yeah," Arnold shrugged. "They haven't seen me practically all my life...I can understand how they'd want to keep an eye on me. I kinda...really feel the same."

Helga was silent for a moment as she observed the way he seemed to grow pensive, as if he definitely had things to weigh in his mind. As much as she wanted to talk about how the two of them were going to work, she'd remembered how crazy his life had been, and how broken up about and focused on his parents he was. She was going to do her darnedest to show him that she respected his problems, too...he deserved her full attention, if she was to even remotely feel like she deserved his. Wasn't that what love was, really? And she had vowed to be there for him.

At least, the whole thing gave her a topic to start on. Her eyes wandered from him and idly upward, taking in the aged building that he called home. "How're they adjusting back to city life anyway...your parents? I gotta bet the whole thing's gotta be pretty jarring for them."

"Oh yeah," Arnold agreed, leaning back on his hands. "I don't know why I really thought that things would feel normal right away, with them around. When they first saw the boarding house again...or, even when they were just seeing the city from the plane...they'd get this...this almost sad, dazed look, like they were...lost. But then, a few seconds later, they'd smile and get excited. They're adjusting much better now at least, now that they've had a chance to recover. We've been making plans to just go around the city and see everything."

Helga hummed, and Arnold's attention picked up at the musing tone of her voice. It was always interesting whenever he would catch her completely out of her "bully" mode (even for a split moment), and see this intelligent and perceptive girl that would every so often give him advice for once, or to just speak to him on his level—sometimes even above his level, without being condescending.

"Yeah, I can kinda see how they'd be acting like that," she said, idly making grooves in the soil with her heels. "Heck, with the way they—and all the adult Green-Eyes, really—the way they've all been asleep for that long? It's surprising that they could still stand. Remember when I broke my leg that time? I had to practice walking on it again once the cast was off, the muscles were so weak from staying still. But, I dunno...I guess the Green-Eyes have some pretty powerful mojo going on. S'not like I'm an expert or something..." she shrugged with a snort. "But, yeah. Good that they're doing okay. And...it's..."

She paused to rub her arm, finally turning her head to meet his eyes with a sincere look. "It's...great..." Her words of kindness were struggling to get out of a throat that wanted to be sarcastic, just like before the whole trip. C'mon, you can do it! She cleared her throat again. "It's great that you...have them back."

At that, Arnold gave her a warm smile and situated himself more comfortably, at the same time also scooting a little closer to her. "Thanks, Helga...and yeah, it is...it really is." He then let out a bit of a laugh. "I still remember the looks on my grandparents' faces when we all met up again."

"Yeah, I do too," Helga let out a snort of her own. "I think everyone was speechless! 'Specially me, dang...and I can't believe my parents actually flew that garbage rental plane of theirs all the way here. Phoebe sure knew what she was doing with that signal thing she built."

"I knew that the rest of the kids would make their way out of there too," Arnold agreed, grinning as he remembered every detail of the reunions. "I'm still surprised that Abner actually found a way back home to get my grandparents...at least, that's how they tell it..." He made a disbelieving face, but then shrugged. "...And it's not such a surprise that your parents would come. It was a distress call; they'd have been worried."

"Pff...worried about Olga, maybe. They hugged the crap out of her, maybe spared me a few words, and then Bob got miffed that I didn't sell any of the rest of the beepers. I mean, doi, they wouldn't have been able to send the distress call if I did." She sighed loudly. "Didn't really need them to come. We didn't need a rescue."

"I'm sure they were worried about you too, Helga," Arnold assured, turning to her.

She scoffed, and the scowl on her face told him that she was back in her familiar, perpetually-angry state. "Shows what you know, Football Head...you're always just so optimistic...how ironic that I was the blind one once."

Arnold grimaced. "You don't have to be so defensive."

"Defensive, I'm not being defensive, who's being defensive?" she exclaimed and stood up, starting to flex her fists. "I'm just a little annoyed that everyone around me doesn't exactly get my life; in case you haven't noticed for the last eight years, my family is, has been, and always will be a sore spot. Oh, but who even cares anyway, not about me..."

"I do, Helga!" Arnold argued. "And so does your best friend; you know that."

"I...!" she started to yell again, only to growl in frustration and kick a nearby rock, turning her back to him. After a second of standing, trying to think and having nothing but red cloak her vision, Helga's head shook. "...Y'know what? Maybe today wasn't a good day to talk after all," she intoned, still angry, but now a little more subdued, mentally kicking herself for having lost her nerve and her temper. "I should just leave..."

"No."

She suddenly felt him take hold of her wrist, his fingers firm but warm. Her head whipped around to him in surprise, and there was a familiar look of determination, though the look in his eyes was also soft and pleading.

"Don't leave, Helga, please. It's a perfect time to talk; and to be honest, I don't think I can stand more waiting until another moment...this was a long time coming, I imagine, and I know for a fact that you want to stay, too."

Helga right then almost wanted to verbally bite his head off and deny like crazy, like she was more prone to do in the past...but she stopped herself from making any sort of retort, which was still as difficult as wrestling a tiger into a cage with one's bare hands and a lasso. That smug little...why did I ever let him know me so well! But he's right, I know he's right, and I REALLY want to try and not mess this up, like I've done a million times before...don't get mad, Helga old girl. Don't...get...MAD.

As Arnold was waiting for a reply, she was still tense, shaking under his grasp as if holding back her energy, head turned and eyes closed, just quietly growling. But at least she didn't rip her arm out of his grasp and leave. He knew exactly what was going on under that mask, and now that he did, he wasn't about to just let things go back to the way they were. They couldn't...he'd grown to like her too much, too.

Still holding her wrist, he reached around to her other hand, which was balled up into a fist (the Five Avengers, he thought; but then, the names tended to switch hands) and took it in his palm. The shaking was still there, but he'd managed to get her to turn and face him again. In Helga's mind, she just tried to will the defensive anger away, focusing on how his insistent grip felt.

"Helga...I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you mad," he started, sincere and calm. "I just want to talk to you. It's just us, so you don't have to go back to acting mean...I know you do that in public, and I think I know why...but when it's just us, you can relax, okay? You can let down those walls you build around yourself. I know you better than that...you proved it. You're a loyal person, and you care deeply, and I want you to accept it too...even just around me. I know you can."

I know I CAN...I know I WANT to...but...

She was still shaking, like she was still struggling to hold her anger back. But her fists at least uncurled, which allowed him to take her hands in his.

"I...know how s-stupid it is...to be m-mean around you now...I d...don't want to be..." she shakily confessed in an even tone, forcing her words out little by little and still refusing to meet his eyes, "But I've...done it so long...it's...too much of a...habit..."

He gave her hands a squeeze. "I understand, Helga...I do. Just breathe, okay?"

She managed a shaky huff as he led her back to the porch to sit down again. "F...fine..." she still couldn't help sounding defiant. "Breathe. Can do."

"Just focus on that for a bit," he advised, remembering how meditating had helped him to just hone his own nervous energy, almost ages ago in his karate training. "You'll feel better. Trust me."

Helga dutifully did just as he said, but nodded her affirmation. "I think, e-except for Phoebe, I...trust you more than anyone else..." she admitted, her voice having gone much softer. Why do I ever let him do this to me...but so help me, it's working. Why did I never think of just stopping to breathe before? It seems so freakin' easy.

He smiled at her words and kept up his hold. The intensity he'd seen was uncoiling quickly, and she was beginning to relax more. "Just breathe it out, Helga."

She'd gathered a big lungful through her nose, just focusing then on the scents that came to her; the soil in the backyard, the dust around the house, and him, just barely close enough to smell as well. It came out in a long and hard sigh, like a balloon that had decided to deflate instead of pop, and the shaking was all but gone. She'd even squeezed his hands back a tiny bit.

When Helga saw fit to open her eyes, and saw his always-kind gaze watching back, she just quirked her lip up. "Heh...good grief, Football Head...ever think you could be a psychiatrist, or something? You'd...be pretty good at it."

He let go of one of her hands to scratch the back of his head in a shy manner, chuckling. "I dunno about that...but I'm glad that seemed to help. You feel better?"

"Y-yeah...I think I'm...kinda cool again. No guarantees how that'll stick," she warned, holding a finger up, "But...yeah, I think I'm good to talk. Just don't bring up my family right now, okay?"

"Gotcha," he nodded, just keeping a warm and now-much-looser hold on her hand.

The two of them were quiet for a moment longer, just letting the familiar sounds of the city outside of the backyard surround them...and now that Helga had actually let herself be dragged out of her temper, she was feeling more than just better. Arnold hadn't let her go...he actually wanted her to stay, and them to figure things out.

"...It wasn't all a dream, was it?" she asked, breaking the silence. "That whole crazy adventure. All of it was real."

Arnold hummed a slight laugh. "I've been having trouble believing it too. It's still hard to...even when I still have my old nightmares about never finding my parents, there they are downstairs when I wake up..."

"I'm just having trouble believing everything now," Helga sighed in agreement. "I'm glad to see that we might just both be crazy."

He fully laughed at that. "Nah. We just have a lot of things to get used to. It's only been a couple of days back."

There was another moment of calm quiet, before Helga cleared her throat. When Arnold glanced at her, she was blushing, and biting her bottom lip. Now or never.

"So then...that night at the Green-Eyes village...when we...y'know. That was real, too?"

He felt his own face going warm, and his smile refused to leave as he looked down at their joined hands bashfully. "Um...when we kissed? Y-yeah. I think it was."

"Oh...good to hear," Helga gulped, and they met each other's eyes again. "Did...did you really mean everything you said?"

Arnold's head whipped up, as if he couldn't believe the question. "Of course I did, Helga...'cause it's all true. You are brave, and loyal, and brilliant...and pure of heart, even if you don't believe it." She couldn't recall that she'd ever seen him blushing so much, and especially not at her. His smile was adoring. "And...well..." his fingers laced with hers, "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done. And...just for me."

"Aw, w-well...shoot..." Helga nervously stuttered. She was fighting (and failing) to keep her smile back. "Y-you know, don't worry about it...it's just...I told you before, I don't particularly hate you, so I couldn't just...let the opportunity go...and I mean, anyway, th-that kiss...was thanks enough, anyway. So, enough with the goo-goo eyes, bucko..."

He laughed shyly. "Sorry...I can't help it..." his gaze turned half-lidded. "I...don't exactly hate you either."

The girl felt an ecstatic shock of a shiver run through her at that, igniting her heart and making her gulp. "Y...wh...huh?"

Arnold very much noticed how flustered she was getting, and rarely though it happened, it was always quite interesting to be on this side of their dynamic, breaking through her barriers with naught but a touch, or a kind word, or both. "As a matter of fact..." he said, somewhat echoing something that he'd heard before. "I like you, a lot." He leaned a bit closer, grinning. "As in like-like."

"...Oh..."

Right then, Helga could have almost passed out. There was entirely no way that she could get angry again. In fact she couldn't help but loudly swoon...hearing these words from Arnold, words that she'd only heard in her dreams...

...Wait, hold on, said her brain at the word "dream", at which point her free hand whipped up to slap her face.

"Helga?" Arnold half-laughed in surprise at her action. "What'd you do that for?"

Her head shook rapidly. "Oof...uh, sorry, just...making sure I wasn't still dreaming or anything. I mean, heh, you, like-liking me, talk about wacky..."

Arnold shook his head, amused at how she was still trying to deny what was happening; she had some very deep defenses, he could very well guess. "Nope, it's all true. I really do."

She still didn't look too certain, but by the look of the shade of red on her cheeks, it was definitely sinking in. "R-really? Truly?"

He was grinning. "Well, I did kiss you, so..."

"Um, well, it seemed more like you just let me kiss you...instead of it being, uh...instigated on my part," she pointed out with a quirked brow, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, I'd just wanted to let you," he pointed back. "I-it wouldn't have felt polite if I just did it; you deserved the chance to do it for real. But I did kiss back."

And Helga, dropping all pretenses of it ever being a dream, went on with clarifying the event. "And...you meant it, right? I mean, it wasn't just all out of gratefulness...?"

"Well, like I said, I am very grateful...so maybe that was half of it. But the other half was that I really wanted to tell you that really I felt how I felt...and that was the best way to show it, at the time," he explained, trying to get his words together. I'm usually better at this. "Actions speak louder than words, and all...and yeah. Since we're here now, and talking, I suppose I'll just say it, too." Her hand was wrapped in both of his own now. "I do like-like you, Helga, and I'd like it if we were together...so, will you...be my girlfriend?"

And she couldn't help it...she swooned without passing out, and her reply just tumbled out without a doubtful barrier to hold it back. "Oh...Arnold, for how long it took to hear it from you, in the depths of my heart and soul, I'd love nothing more than to be together for eternity..."

She bit her tongue suddenly against any further monologues and nodded. "I mean...heck, yeah, sure, why not...?" Helga said, a little more controlled but nonetheless as softly.

Arnold, who had paused with a deep blush to hear her voice go that fervent and passionate once more, just let out a happy laugh. "I'm very glad to hear it, Helga."

For a moment or two, the youngsters just gazed at each other happily, their hands still joined, just edging a little closer.

But then, the quiet was broken by the sound of wheezy, muffled breathing. Arnold hadn't heard it until Helga's eyes widened and she sat back a little to look around.

"Uh..." the boy blinked. "What's that?"

"Us being watched again," Helga deadpanned, then let his hands go to hold up a finger. "Hold that thought a sec."

She then stood up, having pinpointed the sound to be coming from a trash can near the door of the boarding house. With a sigh, Helga opened the lid with one hand and reached in to pull none other than an asthmatic-as-ever Brainy out by the back of his collar with the other.

Helga almost wanted to laugh rather than be angry at this familiar development, but she still kept a calmly stern look. "Hey, Brainy. Not that I'm not still extremely grateful for what you did back in San Lorenzo, retrieving my locket and fixing it...thus also inadvertently helping save the Green-Eyes...seriously, kudos...but now I'm kinda in the middle of an important development here. So I'll make ya a deal. I might avoid punching you in the nose or any subsequent beatings henceforth—should you happen to appear behind me againif you don't appear whenever I'm actually with Arnold. Otherwise, I'll be regularly dislocating your jaw. We clear?"

"Uh," the pale kid wheezed with a bit of a smile, giving a thumb-up. "Crystal."

"Good...now beat it," Helga simply commanded, putting him down and giving him a light shove towards the open side of the gate, where he just hastily retreated.

Arnold, having watched all this with a raised eyebrow and just a small amount of confusion, blinked at Helga when she walked back. "What in the world was Brainy doing here? And how was he in my trash can the whole time?" Really, these are just two of the quite-a-few questions he had at the moment.

"I dunno, but I have a running theory that he's got powers of teleportation," she answered, her own brow raised only in brief remark at their bespectacled classmate before dismissing him altogether and sitting down again.

With a small breath taken, she met Arnold's eyes, her gaze suddenly shy. "So, uhm..." she rubbed her arm. "Where were we, again?"

The football-headed child looked just about as shy as she was, his thumbs playing with each other nervously, though he smiled and refused to look away from her eyes. He was leaning closer again. "Well...I think I was about to kiss you myself, this time...that is, if that's okay," he still had to add in his own modest way, waiting eagerly nonetheless for her response.

He wants to kiss me? HE wants to KISS ME? Another blissful shiver went through Helga, and she seemed to be a little dazed as she answered. "Heh...t-tell ya what, Football Head; I'll um...I'll try to 'let down my walls' more often when I'm around you...b-but, not in public of course, I have limits...a-and...you can kiss me any old time; again, not in public. I-I mean, let's face it, I've got...what, four?...up on you already. You might as well try to catch up, heh..." If this IS still a dream, then crimeny, PLEASE don't let me wake up...

Arnold had to smile and roll his eyes up to the side, innocently looking like he was trying to think on her terms. He hummed as he let one hand rest on her shoulder, and then, flicked his gaze back to her.

"Hm...deal."

"MM!"

Helga, right then, found herself swiftly on the receiving end of yet another kiss, this time courtesy of her beloved. She was frozen solid for a second, taking in that he was so very close, his hands gripping her shoulders, lips pressed completely to hers, and her mind had pretty much gone into a complete blank.

Only when the initial shock died down did she relax in his hold, closing her eyes to return the kiss (and tilting her head to do it properly; he'd pretty much mashed their noses together in his own first attempt), and pulling him in closer with one hand on his back and the other keeping her balance next to her on the porch.

They remained just like that for longer than they'd been able to back in San Lorenzo, just letting out their feelings in what little time was left in the solitude of the morning. Quiet and gentle like back then, nothing heated, or crazy, or acted, like previous others. Both of their faces were very warm, to say the least, but neither wanted to exactly let go; not until the need for air made them.

Helga let out a loving hum before they parted, still holding close, hearts racing. Wow, they both thought simultaneously.

It was Arnold who broke the silence with a short, dazed chuckle. "Now I think I'm one for four."

Releasing a tiny giggle of her own, Helga felt the nigh-instinctual need to come back to her senses and say something sarcastic...but for once she felt it far away. She wanted to just stay in this moment for however long that time permitted. "Yeah...still got some catching up to do though, Football Head."

"Yeah, but I've got time, I think," he said as one hand released her shoulder to instead lay it on hers.

She snorted. "Just tell me one more time that this isn't a dream."

"Feels like it is, but I'm sure it's not," he replied, still in that dazed and very-smitten tone as his fingers squeezed hers.

There was a peaceful quiet that passed between them now, just lost in each other's eyes; inside, Helga's heart felt like it was doing flips. Yes! Finally, at long last...!

Arnold was no less in a state of bliss. Who'd have ever thought I'd be kissing Helga Pataki and calling her my girlfriend...I don't know if I can love her half as much as she seems to love me, yet...but, this is a good start. And she's...just more special than I can say.

And they would have probably been lost in that moment of quiet for a bit longer, had it not been for them suddenly hearing a very stifled, high-pitched giggle, followed by a "shh!" just beyond the gate to the backyard fence.

At that, Arnold and Helga practically jumped apart in surprise, their faces on fire. But they stole one last glance at each other with matching smiles. "Well, so much for not being watched," the boy nervously laughed with his hand behind his neck.

"That's probably gonna be our luck, Arnoldo," Helga sighed, "interrupted at every turn." Next time we'll probably just go up to the stinkin' roof...She then stood up and crossed her arms, facing the gate. "Alright, chuckle-heads, show yourselves or prepare to get beaten into mashed paste!" she threatened, raising both of her fists.

That was when the gate was hastily unlatched, admitting none other than their two best friends into the yard, with their hands up in a placating manner. "Whoa, whoa, at ease, Pataki," Gerald blurted out with a wave, "It's just us."

"Indeed, Helga, there's no cause for alarm," Phoebe added, though she was smiling her reassurance as well. "We didn't mean to interrupt."

"But you were eavesdropping," Arnold guessed, the statement not sounding remotely like a question as he came up beside Helga and crossed his arms, quirking an eyebrow at Gerald in particular.

The boy grimaced. "Okay, okay, y'got us, man...but I promise, we didn't get here until just a minute ago. We would've waited longer to show ourselves, but..." he sent a fond smirk to the girl next to him, "Somebody couldn't keep in her excitement."

Phoebe giggled nervously again. "Yes, I'm afraid the blame should fall to me for our mishap..." she met eyes with her temperamental friend and positively beamed. "But I just couldn't hold it in; nor could I believe it the first time I was told! I'm just so ecstatic for you! And if I may say so now, since circumstances had made it escape my mind the first time...it's about time, girl!" she exclaimed suddenly, pumping her fist in victory, before coming back to herself again and giving the two blonde children a timid grin, hiding her hands behind her back.

Gerald was full-on laughing at that. "Yeah, seriously...I'm still kinda in shock myself. Helga G. Pataki, man?"

"I'm sure we've been through stranger things, Gerald," Arnold rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, Arnold," his friend laughed, nonetheless greeting him with their usual secret handshake.

"Meanwhile, Phoebe, considering that adorable kiss you gave Geraldo on the cheek before we ran off, I'm guessing I'm not the only one that gets a celebration for landing her boy," Helga had to point out with a rather smug grin.

At that, Phoebe couldn't control the bashful splash of red on her face. "Well, uh...I mean...I guess...thanks?" she managed to squeak out.

Still blushing nonetheless himself, Gerald still sidled up next to Phoebe and playfully nudged her. "Yeah, s'true, guess she did," he laughed with a little flirtatious smile in her direction.

Arnold had to laugh after witnessing the whole exchange. "I'm happy for you guys. You always seemed to like each other."

"Oh, Phoebe's liked him for ages," Helga laughed, causing the two best friends in question to roll their eyes in embarrassment (but still manage to lock eyes with each other and smile). "I'm happy for ya too though, Pheebs. And hey, Gerald, while I'm in a good mood, there's something I gotta say."

"Oh yeah?" the boy in question crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

She took a breath and let it out again. "I don't think I ever thanked you for your help with the whole San Lorenzo thing...and really, just being cool with Arnold and me (after all the ribbing about it on the way home)...really, just thanks for being cool in general. You're a good egg, Tall Hair Boy."

Gerald held his hands up, smiling. "'Ey, don't mention it, Helga. I know we've had our differences of opinion; but I also know you'd have my best friend's back in a second if I'm not there first. And if Arnold trusts you, then I do too. Besides, I figure I oughta be in your good graces if I'm datin' your best friend, am I right?"

"Hey, Pheebs can take care of herself, it's not my permission you need to date her, it's hers. But, you are cool in my book, like I said, so I'm fine with it," Helga grinned.

At that, Phoebe nodded with a giggle. "And I must interject that I would be quite accepting to the thought, Gerald."

Oh my GOSH, I'm gonna barf, that's too cute, thought Helga with a roll of her eyes as the new young couple held hands in a fashion they probably thought was inconspicuous.

"Anyway," Arnold smiled as he came up next to Helga again and also grabbed her hand, "What brings you guys here?"

"Eh, I ran into Phoebe as she was going to visit Helga, but she wasn't at home; then she had the idea that she'd have taken a walk over here, so I thought I'd entertain the idea and go with," Gerald explained, grinning at the two blonde kids. "And of course, she was right. I just hope I don't keep catching you guys mid-kiss. I can only take so much mush."

"No promises, Geraldo," Helga said with a grin and a sideways glance to Arnold, who only blushed and looked up innocently. "Anyway," she sighed, "Now that we're all here, are we planning on doing anything? I for one am pretty eager to get back into the swing of normal outside the jungle life."

"Actually," Arnold piped up, "My family's about to have breakfast ready; why don't you join us, Helga? And you guys can too, if you're hungry."

"Hey, why not?" Gerald grinned. "Breakfasts at your house are usually pretty boss. Whaddya say, Pheebs?"

"I surmise that would be delightful; count me in," she answered brightly.

Helga chuckled. "Just to check, Arnold, but are you inviting me, or did your parents say to invite me before you came out?"

Surprised that he was caught out, he shrunk down into his shoulders. "Heh, both?"

"Figured as much," Helga rolled her eyes. "Either way, sure, let's get our grub on. Then maybe we can all head to the park or something."

With murmurs of agreement between them, the four kids headed out of the backyard and back around to the front door, the pairs of them hand-in-hand...at least until they crossed the threshold of the gate, then Helga felt she had to pull her hand away self-consciously. The action only surprised Arnold a little, but he still met her eyes with a kind and understanding smile...which, for once, she returned. Anyone watching the exchange closely would have guessed that they had the same thought.

This will DEFINITELY be an interesting rest of my life.

It was seen as a good return to normalcy even when, as soon as Arnold opened the door, the four of them leaped as expertly as ever out of the way of another rush of pets.