Author's Note:

If you haven't read the Hey Arnold comic "Helga's Heart", you're gonna be lost here. Go find it, it's literally 2 pages long. It's even on the Hey Arnold wiki.

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HELGA

LOVES

ARNOLD

!

Her blue eyes blinked, several times, her distinct head turning, expecting this strange image to simply fade away. A few seconds later, she grasped this wasn't an illusion. It was old, clearly, but it was there, inside of a heart. Weirder than what she was seeing, was where. On the tallest tree in the park, here it was, carved into the wood, and she had questions. Her singular eyebrow furrowed in curiosity and confusion, she took out her phone, took a picture, and made her way back down.

She had questions. She was gonna get answers.

She made her back through the city of Hillwood, though sights and streets she could've navigated blindfolded. As she was prone to, she took the scenic route. Hillwood was a city with a long history, including her school, briefly visible in the distance. Pretty much every kid she knew went there, and pretty much every adult she knew had been taught there. Normally, members of her class might be doing something somewhere in the city, playing in the field, visiting Mighty Pete, or just finding themselves in some escapade, but today was just one of those days. One of Mom's habits had been exploring the city, for reasons she'd refused to clearly explain. One of her own recent finds was the Gym she found herself passing at this moment in time. It used to be the go-to for technology in Hillwood, once upon a time, before everyone ordered online, before everyone just used the device they owned to buy their replacement.

Shortly after, she glanced briefly at a restaurant. A franchise chain these days, but apparently it used to be an ice cream parlor in her parent's day. Must've been good, she still heard adults mention it now and then. A turn later, and she passed Berman-Green Meats. The best place to get a good, well, anything meat-related. She'd asked about Mr. Berman's title for Mom, but apparently nobody knew the origins anymore. (On that note: Who was 'O'l Betsy'?) Hillwood was a city with deep folklore, but the keeper of tales kept some detail to himself, or had "forgotten" them. (Threatened by Mom, asked by Dad, or he just didn't want to anger Aunt Phoebe, she wasn't sure.)

Eventually, she finally came to a stop, arriving at a familiar stoop.

Sunset Arms Boarding House.

Home sweet home.

She opened the door, a deluge of animals pouring out. She entered her home to find Mom just entering the hallway, eyes set on the tablet in her hands. If she had to guess, by her annoyed gaze, Mom had been a little heavy-handed and drawn-out with her imagery. Again.

She shut the door with just slightly more-than-necessary force. Mom snapped out of her thoughts, spotted her daughter, and smiled.

"Welcome home, Cecile."

"Hi, Mom."

Mom noticed something in Cecile's tone, her face turning worried. "Is everything okay?"

"Mom, I found...something, in the park." Mom's mouth opened, "nothing bad, I don't think it is, but- hang on, I got a pic." Cecile pulled out her phone, and with the efficiency unique to her generation, was swiftly ready to present her find. "I found this."

Mom leaned down, took a look, and invented a new shade of white. "Delete this."

"Wha-?"

"Delete it, now. Before-"

"Delete what, Helga?" Asked a third voice, and Cecile knew why.

"Nothing, Arnold." He came into the hall, and Mom turned around, moving herself just slightly between her husband and daughter.

He just rolled his eyes, approaching, and smiling at Cecile. "What you got there, Princess?"

Just like that, Cecile couldn't refuse him anything. "I found this on the big tree in the park, Daddy."

Cecile handed over her phone, and Daddy took a look, smiling when he saw the carving. "Always nice to be reminded."

Colour was coming back to Mom's face, but she looked anything but pleased, even if Daddy was smiling fondly at the photo.

Wait," Daddy looked back to his Cecile "was this at the top of the big tree?" Cecile nodded, and revelation sprang to life in Daddy's eyes, as if pieces of a sudden mystery were falling into place. "So that's why." He saw Cecile's confusion, and smiled. "I got a kite got stuck up that tree once, and your Mom was insistent she could get it down in less than two minutes." He chuckled. "I lost a buck. So did uncle Gerald." He looked to Mom. "Why a tree?"

"I didn't think it'd be found. Ever."

"As opposed to 'in less than two minutes'." He laughed, shaking his head. "You were up and down that thing for hours."

"Made some money off it though."

"You could've just scratched it out."

Mom put a hand over her heart, and Cecile couldn't tell if the offence was sincere. "Desecrate my art? A symbol of my love? Sacrilege."

Daddy rolled his eyes. "If you insist." He looked at the picture once more, smiling fondly. "I should probably get a knife and climb up there myself. After all..." He leaned in towards Mom, breathing on her ear. "Arnold loves Helga."

A quiver visibly ran through Mom, and she refused to meet Daddy's eye. "Football Head."

He kissed her cheek. "Angel."

Mom rolled her eyes, but she couldn't wipe the blush from her face as she kissed him back. Cecile asked about Mom's nickname once. It was her favourite Christmas story. The image in front of her, however, Cecile wasn't so fond of. "Okay, save it for the bedroom, you two."

Mom's brow furrowed, and she gave a familiar annoyed sigh. "I really wish you hadn't snuck those books."

Cecile rolled her eyes. This again. "If you hadn't wrote them, I wouldn't have been so curious."

Daddy, gaze half-lidded, looked at Mom. "Weren't you sneaking romance books at her age?"

A shade of white, and now a shade of pink, in less than two minutes. Mom could do such interesting things with her face. "Not the point." She extracted herself from Daddy, casting what was left of her dignity into a stern glance at Cecile's phone. "Don't put that on Facebook."

Arnold nodded. "Yes, dear." He waited a second, two, waited until she was just out of the hall, all the while turning to Cecile, a grin slowly splitting his face, reminding her of a photo of her great-grandfather, and a similar, mischievous grin. "Got Instagram?"

"ARNOLD!"

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Author's Notes: If you want an idea of what Cecile looks like, look up "Happy Family" by kerenitychan on DeviantArt. It's a pic I just adore, and Cecile is the perfect name for a daughter of Arnold and Helga. I don't know if it's a fan trend, but it really should be. The name is a funny reference, and it just really works. I could easily see Arnold and Helga suggesting the name and laughing about it, before realizing it's just perfect.

Someone get Craig Bartlett on the phone. It's too perfect, it must be made canon.