[A/N: Hello all! So sorry for the delay - life has been busy and I've been really caught up with my Stranger Things fic XD I'm so in love with this show but anyway!

I am determined to finish this fic since it's already almost done. We're down to the nitty gritty and I got enough done to post an update so here we are :) It's been a while since I've written for HA so I hope everything still makes sense. At least, within the context of this story lol Arnold gets a little worked up but hey, he's human and he's got a lot on his mind, y'all XD

Reviews are welcome! Thank you for sticking by me through this drawn-out process. Muah!]

Arnold and Helga spent much of the day scouring the library's old newspapers and records. They'd managed to connect Mari's verse to a murder in Lancaster and Magda to another in Templeton but their trail went cold when it came to B.J.

"Hey, check this out," Helga waved Arnold over to her computer and he leaned over her, scanning the screen as she tried to ignore the body heat emanating from him. "Um, I found this old show that digs into unsolved murder cases and look what popped up,"

"'Madga Lavine…'" Arnold read under his breath. "'A brutal murder mystery that baffled police for decades,'"

"Templeton's about thirty miles from here," Helga said matter-of-factly, keeping her focus on the task at hand instead of the way he smelled of soap and rain. "East, I think. I had a map up on here a second ago but regardless, check the reference," She said, skipping to another open tab and scrolling down to the reference she'd looked up earlier. "'And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar,'" She finished reading and went back to the description of the murder. "There aren't any other details on this page but that's pretty fucking brutal,"

"It sounds like a match but we won't know for sure until we know the details of how she died," Arnold said solemnly, standing up straight and finally lessening the tension in Helga's anxious nerves. "How far did you say Templeton is from here?"

Helga shrugged, leaning back in her chair. "Probably an hour, maybe a little longer in the rain," She replied. "But everything's gonna be closed by the time we get there,"

"We're already pretty far from the cottage," Arnold reasoned, formulating the idea as he spoke. "Do you want to just head up there now? We can crash somewhere for the night and then go to the police station in the morning,"

Helga pursed her lips. "Yeah, I guess that's okay," She shrugged, standing up and stretching. "Shit," She said, looking out the window at the darkened landscape. Despite being relatively early in the evening, the clouds had made it considerably darker and the wind was whipping tree branches against the glass. "The rain's picking up,"

Their commute was a slow one with the stop and go traffic on the highway being enough to drive any person crazy.

"So uh," Helga said, breaking the mind-numbing silence after twenty minutes of snail-like travel. "What are you gonna do when all this is over?" She slouched down in her seat, picking at a hangnail on her thumb.

Arnold exhaled, trying to focus on the road despite the heavy rain. "I'm… not sure actually," He shrugged. "Hopefully they figure out what actually happened with Lila and where she is,"

"Oh yeah, 'cause you really need that in your life," Helga muttered sarcastically but the slight bitterness in her tone did not go unnoticed. Even after all these years, hearing about Lila still left a sour taste in Helga's mouth, especially knowing now everything she'd put him through.

"I mean with the trial," Arnold clarified pointedly, shooting her a look, then sighing. "I just can't believe how things have changed,"

Helga scoffed, "That's because you've had that football-head of yours in the clouds since we were kids, bucko," She rolled her eyes, propping an elbow up on her door where it met the window. "Always seeing the good in people and looking on the bright side," She said with a hint of disdain. "And look at where it gets you - married to a deranged country bumpkin who fakes her own death,"

"Okay, I get it," Arnold muttered, becoming annoyed. "You don't have to rub it in my face, you know,"

"Yeah, you're probably right," She retorted, clearly more amused by her comments than Arnold was. "I've only been aware of Lila's phoniness since she came to Hillwood but no one ever listens to Helga.

"You know, you don't have a lot of room to talk, Helga," Arnold shot back faster than he could think not to.

Helga raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?" She turned in her seat and regarded him with interest. "Please, do tell,"

Arnold exhaled slowly, furrowing his brow as he stared at the brake lights in front of him. "I'm not doing this,"

"Oh-ho-ho, you're doing it, Football-head," She countered stubbornly. "Say what you wanna say,"

"Let's just get to Templeton and do what we need to do," Arnold said, trying to ignore her. "Okay?"

"I'm not gonna stop asking until you tell me what you think you know about me," She replied emphatically, her eyes challenging him though he couldn't take his eyes from the road.

"Let's just drop it," He said sternly, shooting a quick glance at her. "I'm trying to drive!"

"Pfft," Helga rolled her eyes, turning to look out the window. "Whatever,"

They were silent for almost the remainder of the drive. After getting through the highway traffic, the winding roads of the semi-rural community were a refreshing change of pace. It seemed they'd even beat the storm and the rain had lightened up a bit. Storm clouds still rolled past with lightning in the distance but the visibility had improved.

She hadn't intended to argue with Arnold. Her snarky nature had always tended to get her into situations she hadn't intended or expected. Still, his comment gnawed at her. What did he think of her that he would make the statement that she "doesn't have room to talk"? Their past relationship was obvious - she treated him like crap throughout their childhood and adolescence. The more insecure side of her wondered if his comment stemmed from the state in which he'd found her when he first came up to Concordia. She was having a hard enough time wrapping her mind around the rollercoaster of emotions she'd been on - she certainly didn't need him criticizing her for it.

Meanwhile, Arnold was trying to figure out how to get back onto the positive path they'd been on the past few days. He knew Helga could be temperamental sometimes but that didn't mean he could always be a saint - completely unaffected by her rudeness or lack of tact. Any reasonable person could only be patient to a point, right? He didn't want to fight with her and he'd actually been enjoying spending time with her, sans the dangerous overtone of it all. How was it that she could so easily bring out a broad range of emotions in him, taunting him with immature jabs and yet drawing him in with her intermittent vulnerability and magnetism?

As they got closer to the police station, Helga began to search for motels on her phone, finally finding a cheap option and directing Arnold to it in a monotonous voice.

The rain had picked back up by the time Arnold pulled into the motel parking lot and Helga wordlessly unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Hey," He said carefully, crossing his arms over the steering wheel and looking over at her with a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry about earlier. I don't want to fight with you,"

Helga didn't respond, instead staring ahead at the brick wall of the building in front of them.

"Are you gonna say anything?" He pressed, waiting a beat before sighing in exasperation. "Okay, fine. I'm gonna get us a room,"

"Better make it two," Helga snapped as he stepped out of the car, settling back into her brooding when he slammed the car door shut.

She hated the way he made her feel vulnerable. She hadn't asked him to come back into her life - granted, she'd thought he was dead - but she found herself feeling consumed by this uncomfortable exposure brought on by her own speculation as to how he saw her. Was she grateful that he was there? Of course! He was Arnold and he was alive. Somehow knowing that he was still in this world gave her some resolve to work past her guilt and depression over the accident. And he was helping her, as he always did. But god, he could get under her skin, even if he wasn't trying. Maybe she was paranoid. The last thing she wanted was for him to think negatively of her but old habits died hard and if he had anything to criticize her for, she'd beat him to the punch. He'd seen her at her lowest point - in the hospital after an attempted suicide - and the thought of it now made her skin crawl and she wanted to vomit.

Arnold trotted back to the car, his hood over his head doing nothing to keep him from getting soaked in the rain. Helga ignored him initially when he knocked on the window, alerting her to his return as he went around to the back-seat to retrieve some of their research.

Taking a breath and promising herself she wouldn't let herself appear weak again, Helga stepped out of the car and was immediately met with balmy air and heavy rain that soaked her in seconds.

"There's a box on the other side," Arnold called through the car, trying to make himself heard over the pouring rain. "Can you grab it?"

Helga slammed her door shut and defiantly jogged away from the car, under the awning of the building. Noticing a minute later that she wasn't helping, Arnold growled in frustration and stood up, leaving the folders and boxes in the car.

"Seriously?" He exclaimed, his blonde hair soaked and matted to the sides of his face. "Helga, what is your problem?"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" She shot back, leaning casually on a support beam. "You seem to have me all figured out,"

Maybe it was the fact that they'd been cooped up in this car for over an hour in traffic. Maybe it was the fact that Arnold's socks were soaked and his drenched clothes felt like he was carrying an additional ten pounds. Maybe he really was just sick of her hot and cold mannerisms. Either way, his patience was running thin and she just kept pushing him.

"I'm not doing this," He said definitively as he stood by the car door, their eyes locked and challenging one another as they each waited for the other to back down.

"Oh yeah?" Helga confronted him, stomping out into the rain as she fell into the persona she'd mastered years ago. "'Cause I think you already started it so let me finish it," She said, closing the distance between them and glaring up at him. Their modest height difference did nothing to deter her bravado. "Yeah, I've been going through some shit since high school but you better believe I'm still the same Helga Pataki and I'm not gonna take anyone else's shit. I don't need your fake sympathy or condescending remarks -"

"Whoa!" Arnold interjected indignantly but Helga continued, louder.

"Think what you want of me, bucko," She snarled, her eyes shooting daggers. "Maybe you think I'm some pathetic sap or a psycho bitch like your crazy ass wife but I could care less what you think, you got that?"

The whole time, Arnold's expression alternated between incredulous and irate. At this point, both were fuming to the point of completely disregarding the rain and the thunder that boomed over them. Arnold shook his head for a second, trying to comprehend what was happening. "What the hell, Helga?" He exclaimed, rising to match her fire. "I don't even know how to respond to you when you're acting like this!"

"Oh, no?" She feigned concern. "Well, isn't that a shame? You had a lot to say earlier," She said, giving his chest an aggressive push.

"I didn't say anything!" He exclaimed frantically, his frustration bubbling over.

"Bullshit," Helga said scornfully. "You said enough,"

"About what, exactly?" Arnold countered. "What did I say?"

"You said enough!" Helga glared and Arnold about lost his mind.

"This is ridiculous!" He exclaimed, tugging at his hair with his hands.

"Screw you, Arnold," Helga muttered coldly as her thick blonde hair matted to her face and raindrops slid down her neck.

"Oh my god!" Arnold's eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief. "You wanna know what I was thinking before? Would it mean that much to you?!"

"I don't care what you think," Helga retorted and now it was Arnold's turn to scoff.

"That is bullshit," He replied vehemently and Helga blinked, put slightly off balance by Arnold's uncharacteristic cursing but she remained steady. "You treated me like crap, Helga," He said, his eyes boring holes into her as he stepped closer to her. "Throughout almost the entire time I've known you. Even despite what happened up at FTi," He watched for her reaction and saw a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. "So yeah, without thinking about it, I made a comment about you not having room to talk when it comes to criticizing other people's bad decisions and behavior. Do you want me to apologize? I already did but I'll say it again, I'm sorry. Otherwise, I don't know what you want from me unless you like fighting like this?"

"I don't need your apologies," Helga said lamely, her tough facade beginning to crack.

"Then what do you want from me?!" Arnold exclaimed, more desperately. He hated confrontation and he hated being angry but somehow she had this ability to push him, both in good and bad ways. "And don't say 'nothing' because that's a load of crap and you know it," He narrowed his eyes and Helga's expression softened, if only for a second, as though he'd perfectly predicted what she was about to say. "What do you want?" He repeated a little gentler, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled against his own frustration.

Helga fought to maintain eye contact. He was doing it again. This power he had over her to break down her walls and reveal the soft vulnerability within was unnerving at best. "Despite what you might think," She began steadily. "I don't need anyone's help. Or sympathy,"

"You're not answering my question!" Arnold said, unconsciously putting his hands on her shoulders and searching her face for answers as Helga blinked in surprise at the contact. "What do you want from me? I told you everything I can think of but somehow it's still not enough so tell me, what can I say that's going to make you realize everything is fine?"

Helga's skin burned under the pressure of Arnold's hands on her shoulders and she took a step back without realizing it, bumping into the side of the car. Arnold didn't seem to notice, however, as he was more fixated on resolving whatever it was that was happening between them. His green eyes were mesmerizing her and she couldn't help but stare as streams of rain drops glided down his face, only inches away from her own. She was suddenly aware of how close they were and the light pink hue of his lips, the heat between them unmistakable against the mild warmth of a stormy spring night. His eyes roamed her face, searching for answers that she didn't have or at least, didn't know how to provide.

In one swift motion, she rose to meet him, pressing her lips against his as the rain continued to pour around them. Arnold leaned back in surprise, breaking their contact for a moment as their eyes met. She pursed her lips, that uncomfortable vulnerability filling her once again, before something flashed in Arnold's eyes and he pulled her closer, his lips crashing down on hers with a raw, searching passion.

[A/N: Oh boy lol it's been a while since I've written a AXH fight XD. Let me know what you think :) Toodles!]