Arnold felt so happy. Tonight was the evening of October 7th, the day of his 18th birthday. He was now a legal adult, and less than a year from now, he would be going away to college. Although he and many of his friends were already in the process of looking at and applying to different schools, Arnold already knew that he wanted to attend school here in the States, especially if he could be going to the same school with his girlfriend Helga Pataki.

Right now, he was in his room getting ready for bed and putting away all of the birthday presents he received from his friends at his birthday party earlier that evening. All of his friends had been there, as well as his family in the boarding house, most especially his beloved parents. After having found them eight years earlier in the jungles of San Lorenzo, Arnold had been happy to be with them again and have them be there for him through the ups and downs of his adolescence, and now he was especially happy they were here to see him turn eighteen.

Arnold had just been thinking about his parents when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in!" he called to whoever was behind it.

He watched as the door opened and saw his mother turning the knob as his father stood right behind her. "Hey Arnold, can we come in?" Stella asked.

"Sure, Mom," Arnold answered. Noticing Miles coming in with her, he added, "Hi, Dad."

"Hi there, son," Miles said just as he Stella stepped into the room, then walked over to Arnold. "So how are you doing? Did you have fun at your party?"

"Oh, I sure did!" Arnold answered excitedly. "I don't think I've ever had a better birthday party…especially since you guys were there with me."

Both parents looked at their son with still expressions on their faces, until Stella couldn't hold it in anymore and grabbed Arnold into a tight hug. Arnold was a little bit surprised, but also expected that, so he just hugged her back, and then Miles hugged Arnold around his neck as he also ruffled Arnold's hair and patted his back.

After both parents pulled away, Stella said, "Sorry about that unexpected hug, Arnold. I guess I just can't over the fact that you're finally grown up. You're eighteen years old, and in less than a year, you'll finally be going to college."

"Yep, you're finally a young man, Arnold," Miles said. "I can't believe that we have an eighteen-year-old son."

Arnold thought the pattern of those words sounded familiar, so he said, "Just like when you couldn't believe it when you had a one-year-old son, Dad?"

Miles figured out where Arnold was going with this, and grinned. "Yep. Just like when we were with you on your first birthday…and when we witnessed your birth down in San Lorenzo."

Stella smiled and placed her hands on Arnold's shoulders. "You really were a miracle baby, Arnold. I think the volcano stopped erupting when you were born because it was a sign that you were destined to be a great person. And look at you now." As she said those words, Arnold looked down at his feet, then back at his mother. "Even though we missed being with you during your early childhood, we're thankful that we've been able to be with you as you entered puberty and became a teenager. And we couldn't be more proud of the young man you have turned out to be."

When Stella had finished, Miles also smiled, then he placed his hand on Arnold's shoulder after he patted it. "That's right, son. You've made your mom and me both very proud of you, and we'll always be proud that you're our son."

Arnold smiled widely as he beamed proudly. "Thank you very much, Mom and Dad. It means so much to me to hear that you guys are proud of me for the person I am and the things I have done in the past…even if you guys didn't get to see the earlier things I accomplished."

"That's all right, Arnold. At least we can remember all of the stories you told us regarding them, and that counts for something," Stella commented. Then she said, "So are you getting ready for bed?"

"Yeah, I will be soon. I'm just finding a place to put all of my presents."

"Okay, well, then we'll let you go and say good night now." Before she could turn around, however, Stella surprised Arnold with another tight hug, then kissed his cheek. "Happy birthday, Arnold. We're glad you had a great party to celebrate this age."

Arnold only returned the hug and said, "Thanks, Mom. And I felt happiest that you two were there for me. You guys have been great parents, and I love you both."

Miles smiled and ruffled Arnold's hair. "We love you, too, Arnold. And your mom and I will always be here for you." Then the family pulled themselves into another tight hug.

When they finally broke apart, Miles and Stella headed towards the door, leaving Arnold standing where he had been standing when they first entered the room. Miles walked behind Stella, and when she came to the door, they both looked back at Arnold and Miles said, "Good night, son…and happy birthday, eighteen-year-old."

Stella added, "Good night, sweetheart. We love you. Sleep tight."

"Good night, Mom. Good night, Dad," Arnold answered as his parents smiled at him one last time before finally exiting the room.

Hours later, it was shortly after midnight when Arnold had woken up from his sleep after hearing what sounded like light rattling on his skylight ceiling. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted as he saw a shadowy figure up there, one that looked very familiar to him.

Arnold climbed up towards the skylight and upon opening it, he was very surprised to see…

"Helga?!"

"Hello, Arnold," Helga said quietly. "Do you mind if I come in?"

Arnold was very surprised to see Helga at this hour, so he almost messed up his words too much as he answered, "Uh…yes, of course. Come on, won't you? Make yourself at home." As they walked down the steps, he shook his head, hoping Helga wouldn't think he sounded stupid in what he said and how he said it.

As soon as they were in the room, Arnold walked over to Helga and put his arms on her shoulders. "Helga, what are you doing here at this time of night?" he asked, though he tried to sound more happy to see her rather than more shocked than he already was.

"I have a reason," Helga answered nervously, feeling almost too nervous to look at Arnold in the eye as she spoke.

Noticing that Helga was still barely looking at him, Arnold asked, "Which is…?"

Again, Helga hardly looked at Arnold as she said, "It's something I've been saving to give you for your birthday, something that can't be wrapped…" Then she found to look right in his eyes as she finished, "and it's something that we can share together, now that we're both legally adults."

Arnold was just starting to put the pieces of Helga's word puzzle together and he widened his eyes in surprise. "Are…are you saying, that you want to…?" He waved his index back and forth between them both as he tried to form a good sentence. "That you and I… that we…together? Tonight?"

Helga smiled and nodded. "Yes, Arnold."

Arnold swallowed nervously. "Are you sure, Helga? Do you really want this now?"

"Yes, Arnold. As I said, I've been saving this for a long time now…and now that we're both eighteen, I thought it would be an appropriate 18th birthday present for you."

Arnold was momentarily at a loss for words, but before he said anything, he brought his hands to Helga's cheeks and held her as kissed her lips. Helga kissed him back as she placed her hands on his back.

The couple broke apart, then they held hands as they walked over to Arnold's bed. Once they reached it, Arnold gestured for Helga to climb into the bed before him. She smiled and nodded gratefully, then climbed in and lay down on her back. Arnold climbed in after her and pulled the covers over them as he placed himself over her. As they looked at each other, Helga placed her hands around Arnold's neck while he placed his hands on her shoulders. Then Arnold bent down and met Helga's lips and they engaged in a very deep and passionate kiss. Helga pulled the blanket up even further so it covered both of them entirely.

Almost two hours later, Arnold and Helga were lying together in the bed, still holding each other. Arnold was still lying on top of Helga, who kept her arms wrapped around his neck and held him close to her. As they both breathed softly, Helga stroked Arnold's hair while Arnold gently caressed Helga's bare skin.

Arnold closed his eyes as he snuggled his cheek into Helga's, who noticed and nuzzled him affectionately in return. Then Arnold brought his head back up before he leaned down and gently kissed Helga on the lips, who was only too happy to return the action.

After they pulled apart, Arnold looked right at Helga as he tucked away a strand of her hair. "I love you so much, Helga."

Helga smiled lovingly at her now-lover. "I love you, too, Arnold. Happy birthday."

Arnold reached down again to hug Helga and stroke her hair. "Thank you, Helga. You've given me the best gift I've ever had, birthday or otherwise. And I don't think the timing of it could have been better."

"You got that right, football head," Helga said. "And birthday or not, it's also the best you've ever given me, too."

They both laughed softly, then kissed once more before they cuddled up again to get comfortable and finally go to sleep after their night of passion and love.

Okay, I'll admit that this probably won't be regarded as one of my best works because I'm not always good at writing romantic stories, most especially if they have any graphic sex scenes. I just wanted to write a birthday story for Arnold since October 7th is regarded as his birthday by the fandom, and for a teenaged birthday, I thought it would be appropriate for him and Helga to share their first time. But for any of my friends who read and review this, please be nice about it; otherwise don't say anything at all.

And I'm also extremely tied up with work at school, so this is going to be my last Hey Arnold! work for a while, essay or story. While I do have some works in mind for when I can write again, I actually want to go in a different direction with an idea for an essay on Brave, since I saw that movie a lot this summer and really liked it.

Happy 16th anniversary to Hey Arnold! and happy day to we fans of this awesome cartoon!