Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.
They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.
Title: "Blackmail toy"
In the last chapter of "Blackmail toy": After having shared their first night together, Helga collected enough courage to make a few confessions to Arnold who just fell even more in love with her thanks to her honesty.
After a somewhat awkward, yet wonderful breakfast, Helga was invited to join the rest of the family as they drove Aaron to the train station. She and Arnold even got a chance to say goodbye to him alone, where he admitted to her, that the reason for his blackmailing had been a twisted way to try to get her to confess to Arnold.
After giving her his number, Aaron was on his way home. Even if Arnold didn't consider Aaron an actual threat – anymore – he wasn't fond of the thought of Helga having his cousin's number and started insisting on her throwing it out. All it took for him to calm down though was a simple kiss and the words 'I love you' from her, which he would hear again and again at the many years to come.
Author's 1st note: Sorry it took so long! School and 'Let me be your hero' are my excuses and I'm sticking to them! xD Oh, and this is technically the epilogue… but there's going to be more than one, so to speak, or rather there's another part :D
Epilogue – Part 1: "Our favorite Arnold and Helga moments"
Helga couldn't believe it. He was doing this to her again. "You really need to find yourself a girlfriend, Aaron." She said with a cocky smile, earning a just as cocky smile from the tan boy in front of her, who leaned a little closer. "Why would I need a girlfriend when I have you?" he asked, causing the blonde girl to cock an eyebrow at him. "Oh, so that's what you think is going on, huh? You have me?" she asked him. "Hey, we're here together right now, aren't we?" he asked. "I was here." She answered with a smile. "You were looking for me."
"Of course! I had try to talk you out of making the biggest mistake of your life one last time." Aaron answered. "Oh, biggest mistake of my life, huh? That's real nice of you to say that about your own cousin." Helga pointed out with a slight edge to her voice, but her amusement was obvious. "Hey, he could be my twin and I'd still try to stop you from doing this." he answered. "And I'm guessing that the ulterior motive is that if I leave him, that means I'll come running to you?" she asked him as she placed her elbow on the table between them and smiled once again. "Hey, I'm just trying to help you here." He answered and put his hands up in mock defense. "What you do afterwards is completely up to you."
"Uh-huh." Helga said in disbelief. "So, if I leave Arnold and start dating someone else who is not you, you won't call him a mistake either?" she asked. Aaron shrugged. "What can I say, Helga, I'm picky with the guys you date." He answered. "You really have taken this whole meddle-with-Helga's-life thing seriously ever since we met, huh?" she asked as she gestured with her hands in a wavy movement. "I care about you!" he said with a bit of defense in his voice, but his cocky smile never left his face.
"And what a perfect way to show it when we first met; blackmailing me!" Helga pointed out with a laugh. "So I'm a little eccentric." Aaron admitted. "Which is what makes the two of us perfect for each other." He added as he leaned dangerously close to her. Dangerous for him since she pushed him at his chest, sending him flying over his chair and onto the floor. "Sure, for taking over the world. Not for being a couple!" she answered with a smug smile.
"Then let's take over the world, baby!" Aaron answered with childish enthusiasm as he lifted his arms into the air. Helga couldn't help but chuckle at him. Since she met him, he had been the very untraditional type and she had to admit that because of that she felt a special bond with him. Their relationship wasn't very complicated to them, but to outsiders, it was probably confusing. "We're not taking over anything! You're too dangerous to be around for more than a few minutes."
"You're only saying that because you're afraid that you won't be able to control yourself around me." Aaron replied as he wiggled his eyebrows at Helga. "Oh, yeah, sure, I just can't handle all that charm oozing out of you." she answered with seething sarcasm. "A-ha! So you admit it!" he said as he pulled himself onto all fours. "You don't get sarcasm, do you?" she asked as he crawled towards her with a predatory grin. "Stay away!" she warned with a smile and lifted her foot to place it at his shoulder to keep him away.
"You really are shameless." A male voice said with a bit of an edge to his voice, but mostly amusement. Helga lifted her head, while Aaron turned his around to look at Gerald, their common friend who was looking at them with a crooked smile and crossed arms. "Flirting with your cousin's bride." He added as he grabbed the collar of Aaron's shirt and lifted him up from the floor. "They're not married yet! I still have a chance!" he decided in a childish voice and readjusted his shirt after Gerald had let go of him. "Dude, you didn't have a chance when we were 16 and you don't have one now." He answered with an eyebrow quirked.
"All's fair in love and war. Ain't that right, Helga?" Aaron asked, as he wriggled his eyebrows yet again, making sure that Helga knew to what he was referring. Or rather, all the things to which he was referring. "Oh, low blow, Aaron." She answered with a smile. "Is he going at it again?" a female voice asked in amusement. "Hey, Phoebs." Helga answered, not having to turn around to recognize the voice of her best friend. She felt a pair of arms snake themselves over her shoulders and she lifted her hands to hold them.
"You need to get changed, Helga." Phoebe pointed out, tickling Helga's ear as she did so, since she was so close. "Aw, you sure I can't walk down the aisle in jeans?" she asked with mock disappointment. "Sorry, Helga." Phoebe answered with a smile, causing the blonde-haired woman to sigh sarcastically. "Well, if I have to." She answered, removing Phoebe's arms gently from her shoulders and stood up.
"And you need to get changed too." Gerald pointed out to Aaron and grabbed the collar of his shirt yet again. "We can always have an affair, Helga!" Aaron said in a dramatically romantic voice as he was pulled away by Gerald's hand. Helga and Phoebe laughed together as they waved at the boys. "Forget it, Aaron!" they both answered and turned to smile at each other, when the men were gone. "He sure is persistent, huh?" Phoebe asked as she crossed her arms. "Yeah," Helga answered with a smile and crossed her arms as well. "but only because he knows I'd never actually cheat on Arnold."
Phoebe giggled at Helga's answer and grabbed her hand to pull her towards the changing room. "He doesn't even actually have feelings for you, does he?" she asked. Helga shook her head in reply. "Not really. It's more like a running joke at this point. If Arnold had been around, he would have turned up the charm even more just to try to make him jealous. Aaron's getting really frustrated actually since Arnold doesn't get jealous anymore."
"Not at all?" Phoebe asked. "Then he's pretty damn good at hiding it!" Helga answered with a giggle, but then shook her head in a more serious matter. "No, not at all. Arnold knows that I love him with all my heart, so he doesn't consider Aaron an actual threat. Besides, he knows Aaron doesn't have real feelings for me too." She added. "How about with other men?" Phoebe asked with a sleazy smile, already knowing the answer. "You've been with Gerald for far too long, Phoebs, you've gotten mean!" Helga said with a laugh. "So, Arnold's a little possessive. As if I actually mind that."
"I know you don't, because you're just as possessive!" Phoebe pointed out with a laugh. "Hey, I've gotten slightly better… haven't I?" Helga asked with a small smile. Phoebe nodded. "Of course you have. Besides, what does it matter if you're both possessive? It's not like anyone of you are going anywhere without the other." She pointed out. "You're talking like Arnold and I are glued to the hips." Helga observed as she quirked an eyebrow.
Phoebe stopped walking when they got into the changing room, but also because she simply had to turn around and look at Helga with a disbelieving look. "Seriously?" Helga asked, to which Phoebe shrugged. "It's been worse. Way worse. When you two started dating in high school, it was like you were Siamese twins!" she answered. Helga could feel a very distant blush as she could feel her mind walking down Memory Lane for a short moment. All the new feelings she experienced with Arnold when they started dating had been heavenly. Many things had also been bad since they tended to fight from time to time. They couldn't stay mad at each other for more than an hour though and she had to admit that the makeup sex was… quite satisfying as well.
"Earth to bride-to-be!" Phoebe said as she snapped her fingers in front of Helga's face. She shook her head and turned to look at her short friend, giving an embarrassed smile. "B-Bride-to-be…" she repeated with a small giggle. "Stop giggling and change into your dress!" Phoebe said scolding, but couldn't help but giggle at her friend's giddy behavior. It was ok that she was more of an airhead today than she had ever been before; it was her wedding day after all.
A certain blonde man was currently trying to calm himself by walking back and forth in the hallway as a lion trapped in a cage. "Arnold, you'll end up making an obvious trail of your footsteps on that carpet of you keep doing that." Gerald pointed out with a laugh. The man in question, stopped walking, turned his whole body around and gave a nervous smile. "Sorry, Gerald, I guess I'm a little on the edge." He answered.
"You afraid Helga's gonna chicken out?" Aaron asked, approaching Arnold together with Gerald. Arnold frowned at his cousin. "No. I'm not afraid. Just… nervous." He answered. "About what?" Gerald asked with a shrug. "M-My wedding vows." Arnold answered and stuck his hand into his pocket to pull out a piece of paper. "What's scary about them? Give me!" Aaron ordered and grabbed the paper. Arnold didn't protest though, since he had hoped for Aaron and Gerald's opinion about them.
Arnold kept watching his two best friends as they started to smile at the words on the paper. After a few minutes, they started laughing. "D-Don't laugh!" Arnold begged with slightly red cheeks and went to grab the paper from Aaron's hands. "S-Sorry, man, but… you've always been cheesy, but Helga's really done a number on you when it comes to poetry and pretty talking." Gerald pointed out as he tried to stifle his laughter.
"S-So she's made me develop an interest in poetry. Can you blame me?" Arnold asked in a slightly defensive matter as he eyed the black ink on the paper. "Arnold," Aaron said with a big smile as he put his arm over his shoulders and gently pulled him closer to him. "Helga's gonna love this."
"Y-You really think so?" Arnold asked with hopeful eyes. "Of course! Duh! Helga's probably gonna be so happy that she'll start crying." Aaron answered with a big smile, but those words caused Arnold to give a slightly panicky look. He knew how much Helga hated to seem vulnerable in anyone else's presence than his and Phoebe's, so the thought of her crying in front of everyone made him question his theme of wedding vows.
Aaron, knowing Arnold and Helga like the back of his hand, gave an encouraging smile to Arnold. "And she'll be so happy that she won't care that everyone will see her cry." He added. Arnold still looked a little unsure, but decided to trust Aaron's judgment; he knew Helga and the way her mind worked, because they resembled each other like that. Over the years, he had felt a little jealous of that connection, but up to several times he had also proved to know Helga in ways that Aaron didn't. He guessed that was what true love was; to love and even hope for the significant other to be loved and accepted by everyone.
Arnold had been truly happy for Helga when she and Aaron developed this sibling-like relationship they had. She had been in serious need of more positive relationships back then. Today, she had grown very fond of their old gang as well and realized that she even loved her family, especially after they started to care for her as well. Even he had developed some sort of relationship with both Bob, Miriam and Olga.
"It's time, Arnold." Gerald said as he gave a gentle smack on Arnold's back. "You ready?" he asked. Arnold looked through his wedding vows one last time, then looked at his cousin and best friend with determination and nodded.
"You look ever so beautiful, Helga." Lila said with a small tear in the corner of her eye as she gazed at Helga. The blonde girl was gazing at herself in the mirror, barely believing that she was wearing her dream wedding dress. "You're stunning." Phoebe chimed in with a big smile, on the verge of tears herself. "Stop it, you two, or you're gonna make me cry." Helga pointed out with a smile and turned slowly to avoid stepping on her dress. "You are wearing waterproof makeup. You can cry all you want." Phoebe answered, causing the blonde girl to roll her eyes. She knew that her two best friends knew her through and through and knew that even if she hated that fact, then this would be a very emotional day for her and a few tears couldn't be avoided completely.
"Are you ready, Helga?" a male voice asked outside the door. "Yes, dad, I'll be there in a second." Helga answered and grabbed her dress to pull it off the floor. "Could one of you open the door?" she asked with an embarrassed smile, since she wasn't capable of doing something as simple as that at the moment. With a small giggle, knowing that Helga wasn't fond of asking for help, Lila stepped towards the door and opened it.
Big Bob Pataki's eyes widened when he saw his youngest daughter. "Helga! You look absolutely… uh, r-real pretty." He said with a shy cough. Helga smiled at her father, knowing that he was just as bad as giving compliments as she was at receiving them, so she didn't mind him going with pretty. She could handle that much. "Thanks, dad. Ready to give me away?" she asked him as she stepped outside into the hallway. "As ready as I'll ever be." He answered and offered her his arm. She took it with a shy smile and followed him through the hallway with Lila and Phoebe walking right behind her.
"Are you nervous, Helga?" Bob asked in a small voice, when he and his daughter had reached the door, waiting for it to be their turn to walk inside. She frowned at him. "W-Why would I be nervous?" she asked. "Oh, no reason. You don't have anything to worry about. I guess I just… wanted to calm you down in case you were." He explained with a shrug and turned his eyes away from her. She could feel her heart pop at that confession and she couldn't help but smile. "Well… I guess I am a little nervous." She half admitted and half lied. Mostly, she just wanted to humor Bob since he was usually rather bad at being sensitive.
Bob smiled at his daughter, knowing that she had seen right through him. "Well, there's no reason to be nervous, Helga. I have seen you and Arnold together and he loves you as much as any man can love a woman. And you deserve nothing less." He said. Helga couldn't help but gasp a little at that as she felt her heart pound. She looked down at the floor, knowing very well that Bob was smiling at her shyness. "Th-Thanks…" she mumbled gratefully, feeling her whole body going as warm as the sun at his kind words.
Inside the church, Arnold was starting to move his weight from one foot to the other, starting to feel rather giddy. "Calm down, man." Gerald whispered in his ear. Arnold turned his head around to face his best man. "I can't! I'm afraid I'll have a heart attack when I see her!" he answered in a whisper. Helga had refused to tell him anything about her wedding dress, claiming it meant bad luck to do even that. He knew her too well to believe that though; in reality, she knew how much he wanted to know what it looked like and just wanted to torture him by not telling anything.
"Oh, get over it. You'll see her in a second." Gerald whispered as he rolled his eyes and stepped back to his proper place. Arnold sighed and then he could hear the wedding march beginning. It felt like time slowed down as he turned around and saw that stunning girl at the far end of the aisle. Her hair was tied up in a tight bun, leaving only two curly locks hanging next to her temples. A flower crown made of pink roses tied her bun and made the veil fall beautifully from her head to her waist. Her cream-colored arms and shoulders were bare as the chest piece of the gown made two waves over her torso. The dress' main color was white, honoring the tradition, but covering the chest piece was some rosy embroidery creating a beautiful pattern of small flowers. Around her stomach and hips, the dress was white, but then the pink pattern continued from the left side of her waist and down in a crooked trail around the dress to the right side. The pattern repeated itself three times and in-between the pattern, you could see the flashes of white. To think that he would have had a heart attack at seeing her had been an understatement.
Arnold had been so lost in his own little world with white dresses with pink embroidery, that he hadn't noticed how close Helga had gotten in the meantime. She was smiling at him in slight disbelief, but she was also trying to stifle a giggle. The rest of the guests in the church started to chuckle as well, when she had to wave her hand in front of his eyes. "Arnold…" she called in a sweet voice, prolonging his name teasingly. When his eyes didn't get any less lovesick, she frowned at him and then gently smacked the back of his head. "Wake up!"
Arnold shut his eyes tight and shook his head to get out of his own little dream world. He could suddenly hear the heartfelt laughter around him and when he opened his eyes, he could see that Helga was giggling as well, but was trying to hide it behind her hand. Still in a slightly dazed state, he took her hand in his own and kissed it gently, causing her to stop giggling instantly. "I'm sorry." He whispered gently and gave her that stare he knew she adored with her entire being.
Arnold could feel Helga's hand shake in complete pleasure, before she turned her head to Bob, who was still holding her other arm. "It's ok, dad, you can let go now without worrying." She said teasingly, causing the older man to chuckle. "Very well then." He said, let go of her arm and then gave her shoulder a gentle pat. He then gave a slightly scolding look to Arnold. "Don't space out on my daughter again and ruin this day for her, you hear?" he said as he waved a mockingly scolding index finger at him.
"B!" Miriam chastised with a laugh. Bob turned around to give her a smile. "What? I'm just looking out for my girl. I gotta keep my son-in-law on his toes, don't I?" he said defensively as he sat down next to her and turned to look at the bride and groom, noticing that the groom was currently saluting him. "Yes, sir!" he answered, causing the entire church to laugh. Even the priest. He had figured that this was a rather unorthodox family at this point and it was somewhat refreshing.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony." The priest began to speak, but not Arnold nor Helga were truly listening. Their minds were too occupied with every single memory that had led to this moment. Them meeting back in preschool, learning to accept and even love each other's traits and flaws, growing up and experiencing adoration, love and lust in every new way possible, to experience jealousy and all the consequences that came with being so different, but most importantly; to truly learn what it meant to love and to be loved in return.
As Helga and Arnold continued to gaze at their own reflection in each other's eyes, they could see all the memories and experiences they had shared over the years. Their first kiss, first lovemaking, their first fight, even the first break-up. That separation only lasted about 30 hours though and then they had run right back into each other's arms and hadn't left since. They swore to each other and to themselves that they would never let go again, and they in their hearts that they couldn't, even if they wanted to.
"Arnold!" everyone in the church shouted, causing the blonde couple to gasp in surprise and look around in confusion, while the crowd started to laugh. "Young man." The priest said in an understanding, yet amused tone of voice. Arnold and Helga both turned their heads around to look at the priest. "Your wedding vows, if you don't mind?" he asked kindly. "Oh… Oh! Right." The young man said and started to move his left hand towards his left pocket, but then he suddenly noticed a familiar hand in his own. He knew he had been holding Helga's hand for a while now and yet he had barely noticed that fact. Holding her hand had become such a natural thing by now.
"Could you let go of my hand, Helga?" Arnold asked with a goofy smile on his face, thinking that he knew exactly how she would reply to this. "You let go, football head!" she answered with a cocky smile, also knowing this little game of theirs by heart. She also knew what he was planning to do by the way his eyes sparkled with gleam for a second, and yet she couldn't help but gasp and giggle, when he actually did pull both of their hands into his pocket. "Oh, save it for the honeymoon!" Aaron said mockingly, causing everyone in the room – including the couple in question – to laugh.
By the use of his own hand, and Helga's, Arnold got ahold of the paper with his vows written on it. As he waved it in the air to unfold it and opened his mouth to speak, he could feel himself choking on his breath. A sudden surge of nervousness hit him and he felt as if he never would have been able to speak, if Helga hadn't realized what was going on with him. She gave him an encouraging squeeze with her hand, causing him to look into her azure blue eyes. Her gentle smile seemed to calm him down instantly and as he took a deep breath, he gave her a smile back.
"Helga, my love, I am no match to you if it comes to poetry." Arnold started, eyeing Helga for a second to make sure that he mentioning poetry didn't throw her off. It didn't. On the contrary, her smile indicated that she was looking forward to hear what he had to say. He gave an inwardly sigh in relief. Even if Helga being rather poetic wasn't a secret any longer, he still hadn't ever dared to mention it this openly. Their old gang was a part of the crowd in the church too even.
"But through years, I have come to love your poetic words and have developed an interest in your poems as well. Even if I am no match for you… then I decided to do my best to write you a poem, knowing that it wouldn't do you honor." Arnold decided and heard Helga make a small gasp. He knew what that gasp meant, he would recognize it anywhere; she was already on the verge of tears. Knowing that the mere thought of him having written her a poem was making her teary-eyed, gave him enough courage to take a deep breath and read the words on the paper slowly.
"As far as I know, the way you gaze at me goes on and on
As far as I know, it is no secret that my love for you goes on and on
As far as I know, there is a place where our dreams goes on and on
So join me in a world where your gaze, my love and our dreams goes on and on
Take my hand and let me lead you away
You are my own, my one true bride
So take my hand and let me lead you away
To the infinity of the heavenly blue sky."
When Arnold dared to look up at Helga, her face was hidden behind that bouquet of pink roses she had carried in her hand. He could hear the sound of aww echoing in the church and he could feel himself blushing. It didn't matter how old he got; certain things would always make him blush. "She sure did a number on you, Arnold!" Gerald observed once again and gave him an encouraging pat on the back. "I thought it was just ever so lovely!" Lila chimed in a used her index finger to wipe away a tear in the corner of her eye.
"H-Helga?" Arnold asked gently and shook her hand a little. He leaned closer to her and dared with his hand, in which he was still holding his wedding vows in, to slowly pull the bouquet down. When he did so, he noticed a pair of shiny, diamond blue eyes gazing at him with so much embarrassment, affection and joy that he felt as if he could have fainted in happiness. He got so lost in her eyes that he lost his sense for time.
No one was really sure how or why, but one way or another the priest had elegantly skipped over Helga's wedding vows and gone straight to the 'I do's'. He could have done so because he knew they wouldn't be able to make it within the time limit if this was the way the groom would react to his bride's vows as well. No matter the reason, before anyone know what had happened, Helga had grabbed Arnold and made him kiss the bride.
The whole church had erupted into applause during the kiss and some people had even hollered when Arnold scooped Helga up into his arms and carried her away. It had been exceptionally funny when Helga had to point out to him, in a very loudly laughing voice that they still had to go to the wedding reception and they could almost see him pout at her as he put her down again. He had given her quite a passionate kiss of his own though and then made the score even.
When Helga and Arnold did leave the church, the gang part of the guests, including Aaron, couldn't help but follow them curiously. Not to their surprise, Arnold's plans to steal Helga away had been to steal away a few kisses from her. The couple didn't even care when the gang started to whistle at them; they had figured they'd follow them anyhow. Besides, at this point, them seeing Arnold and Helga kissing wasn't anything new. Having known them since preschool, and shared both high school and college with them when they started dating, it was inevitable.
The small clink of a glass gently being hit at made the voices in the room go inaudible. "Oh, crap…" Arnold whispered in a mockingly horrid voice and started to hide his face in the crook of his wife's neck, when he noticed that it was hid grandpa and dad who was standing up, ready to propose a toast and probably add a speech if he knew them correctly. "Quiet down, please!" Miles requested despite everyone already being quiet. "Thank you!" he said with a little too much enthusiasm in his voice for Arnold's taste.
"Now… where is the bride and the blushing groom?" Phil asked with a toothless smile. After receiving an encouraging pat on the back from Helga, Arnold dared to lift his head from her neck and send a small, embarrassed frown towards the two older men who weren't standing far enough away from him for that question to make sense. "Oh, there they are! Oh, and look… they're both blushing." Phil pointed out, causing the couple to look at each other to confirm the statement. It was indeed true and they couldn't help but smile at the fact that no matter how old they got, their beloved would always make them able to blush.
"Now, now, you two have plenty of time for kissing when we're done with the toast!" Phil said teasingly, causing the couple to stop moving towards each other for a kiss. With a small chuckle, they took each other's hands and turned their attention to Phil and Miles yet again. "Sorry. Continue." Arnold said with a smile, hoping that this moment wouldn't have a too high rating on his 'my most embarrassing moments' list.
"We would like on this special occasion to use the opportunity to take a little trip down Memory Lane when it comes to our young couple here." Phil said as he gestured towards Arnold and Helga. "Oh, crap." Helga stated, causing everyone in the room to laugh wholeheartedly. "Helga!" Miriam scolded with a small frown, but couldn't hide her own smile. "What? It may be my wedding day, but I'll be damned if I'm going to suddenly act like some princess." Helga answered with her head held high, but started laughing with everyone else very soon.
"You two have always had a very rocky relationship… way before you even became a couple." Miles said, causing everyone to smile in agreement. Helga and Arnold looked lovingly at each other and grabbed each other's hands as Miles continued. "Stella and I have unfortunately not been there through most of Arnold's childhood, but seeing him for the first time when he was 10 and meeting Helga, we had no doubts in our mind that this would be a girl who would become a part of our family someday."
Helga smiled shyly. Miles and Stella had told her about a year ago about their thoughts about her when they first met her, admitting that they had been very intrigued by her and Arnold's relationship back when they were children. How it sometimes seemed like they hated each other and the next moment that they loved each other. It was a somehow vicious circle, but both as children, teens and adults they found a certain kind of love in each other that they couldn't deny, hide or destroy.
"We sure hadn't expected our son to be so slow at making her his girlfriend though." Stella added teasingly, causing Arnold to roll his eyes a bit, but nudged his elbow at Helga when he noticed how she was nodding in agreement. "Hey!" he scolded affectionately, but she simply stuck her tongue out at him friskily. "You were dense, football head, and you always will be." She said teasingly, but then smiled at him fondly. "It's one of your charms if that helps."
And indeed, it helped. It wasn't like Arnold was mad at Helga or his parents just before, but her comment sure did make him smile like the goofy fool he felt like right now. "That girl knows you through and through, Shortman." Phil teased, causing everyone to snicker a bit. "Just continue, please." He begged with a slight blush, listening to Helga giggling made him sigh in content though.
"This rocky relationship was of course mostly due to the fact that you two were like Yin and Yang. While that may have caused quite a few fights, it's also caused you two have quite a few very unforgettable memories." Miles said with a knowing smile, noticing how both Helga and Arnold were staring at him wide-eyed. "Oh, crap." They said in unison, knowing exactly where this was going.
"And to sum up these unforgettable memories with our favorite couple, we of course had to ask around a bit to find out a few things about you two." Phil said with a big grin. Arnold and Helga frowned and turned to look at their friends, their old gang, who were all sitting with very big smiles as well. "Oh, you didn't!" the newlyweds exclaimed, but simply shut their mouths tight as Miles continued to speak. "We'll start with our groom."
Arnold sighed heavily, doing his best to prepare himself for whatever was to come. "We all know that Arnold may be dense and may be slow, but, Helga, you should know that Arnold did indeed try to ask you out several times during high school." Phil said. Helga frowned in confusion and looked at Arnold who just smiled embarrassedly back at her. "The first time he tried to do so was after a certain food fight during high school. Several times even." Miles added.
Helga cocked her head to the side, putting on a pensive face. She remembered the food fight, obviously, but when in the world had Arnold tried to ask her out? "First time was in the bathroom." Arnold explained before any of the male parts in his family could. Helga frowned a bit. Then her eyes widened in realization. "Oh! That thing you wanted to tell me? Just before Aaron walked…" she said and then turned to scowl at Aaron, who seemed to have been just as much in the dark as she had been until this moment. "I feel like introducing you to my fists all over again." she said darkly, but with a hint of humor in her voice. Aaron shrugged gently with a goofy, but somewhat apologetic smile.
"He tried again later when you were cleaning up the mess in the cafeteria." Stella said this time around. Arnold frowned at that and looked towards Gerald who was whistling innocently. Arnold had only ever told Gerald about his attempted confession and him whistling like that was prove of him being the one to have told on him. "Not entirely true…" Arnold said and turned to look at Helga again. "I tried to kiss you… while I was checking if you had a fever."
Helga seemed thoughtful once again. "Fever… Oh! Because my face went all red, you thought I had a fever, but then your hands were clammy as well, so you decided to compare our body temperatures by placing your forehead on mine!" she said loudly, proud that she had remembered all that – then again, she remembered anything Arnold based. Arnold blushed heavily after Helga said all that in such a brash voice. Everyone in the room, at least the people who didn't know this story, started laughing loudly.
"Arnold, you dog!" Sid declared teasingly, only fuelling the laughter even more. "N-No!" Arnold insisted shyly. "I really was checking if she had a fever… at first." He admitted and turned to look at Helga again. "You just had to say that out loud, didn't you?" he asked with a small, embarrassed frown. "Hey! If you think about it, you'll know exactly why my face was red back then in the first place!" she answered with a frown as well.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Arnold asked, trying to recall what he had done just before back then. "You winked at me, paste for brains, how could I not blush at that?" Helga asked as she crossed her arms. Arnold did his best to recall doing something as flirtatious as that back in high school. It was true that thanks to him growing up, maturing and dating a very passionate girl in general, he'd had his fair share of passionate moments, but he was pretty sure he never had the guts to do such a thing back then. Then he did remember. They had been talking about her past good deeds and he winked at her rather than answering which good deeds, he was thinking of.
"Oh!" Arnold exclaimed with a small blush and smiled at Helga. "I remember…" he declared and gave a nervous chuckle, since she seemed to be looking at him accusingly. She had probably hoped to take that her-being-able-to-blush thing with her to the grave. Hey, she may have grown to be more social and more open around her friends, but she still preferred to keep certain things to herself and Arnold.
"He tried once again during detention!" Gerald added, talking loudly over the crowd. Miles smiled thankfully at him, since he wasn't very fond of yelling at a place like this, so Gerald doing it for him was something he appreciated. "During detention?" Helga repeated, but then smiled. "Oh, the paper planes!"
"Yes! The one Mrs. Smith snatched was the one where I asked if you wanted to go to out. I was using the whole food fight thing as an excuse, but I was still devastated when I didn't get the chance to ask you anyway." Arnold explained as his smile went up towards his right cheek. "I was thinking that I was a jinx and everything."
"Aww." Helga said and started to nuzzle Arnold's hair, causing him to look at her like a puppy being pet. "Again; you two can be mushy later. You have the rest of your lives now, remember?" Phil reminded the young couple, causing them to laugh warmly and turn their attention to the speech once again. "Of course we can't forget your most memorable attempt at telling Helga about your feelings." Stella said with a mother's worry and a bit of a scowl.
Everyone in the room nodded, saying 'at the baseball game' in unison. Arnold's hand automatically went up towards a small part of his head where he could still feel the small scar that had developed from having that baseball smacked against his head. Helga's hand, which had still been nuzzling his hair, went straight to that part as well, causing their hands to touch. They smiled amorously while they grabbed each other's hands and sighed a bit. That had been a scary moment for Helga, Arnold knew that and that was why they didn't speak of it very often. It wasn't taboo as such, but nevertheless a touchy subject.
That was also why Miles and Phil skipped gracefully over that memory, going on with their speech as they mentioned as many embarrassing moments as they possibly could. Arnold had lost count of how many times he had blushed, Helga had laughed or the others had mocked him during the speech. Everyone were enjoying themselves as they listened to these stories about Arnold's childhood and teen years, and when Miriam and Bob stood up to join them, saying that it was only fair to embarrass the bride as well, Helga had almost ripped the peach tablecloth in the process.
Bob had mentioned certain phone calls where Helga had been dancing around while she spoke to Arnold and he had found her lying on the floor with this dumb smile on her face. Miriam mentioned to have once caught Helga in that shrine of hers (thought Miriam hadn't called it that, but simply said that Helga must have been in the middle of writing one of her poems about Arnold, since she had tumbled out of her closet). Olga dared to almost tell everyone about how Helga had confessed to her that she had helped Arnold finding Mr. Huynh's daughter as a secret Christmas gift, but Helga had managed to stop her before she went that far.
Arnold already knew this, having figured it out over the years after learning more about her cunning side, but to Helga, this certain selfless action of hers was private. She was afraid everyone would start praising her for what she had done, and in some way, that made the act seem less selfless; like if she had done it to be rewarded or to prove to everyone that she was not as selfish as she once was.
"Now that we have fried the bride and groom separately, we believe it's time to grill them together. You might as well get used to it, kids. You're married; everything the other one does is gonna be your fault as well." Miles said teasingly, earning an elbow to his hip from his still wife. Arnold and Helga rolled their eyes, but listened to Miles continuing nevertheless. "These things we'll mention now are also things your friends have told us about. My personal favorite was to hear how you two apparently had been sneaking around in the lockers at school before you even started dating."
First, Arnold looked confused, but after Helga flashed him a very embarrassed grin, he remembered the whole 'skirt-incident', and made a grunt in a mix of discomfort and very satisfied nostalgia. As far as he remembered that was the first time he had been that close to Helga and, it wasn't like he was complaining, but he wouldn't have minded that happening later. Like when they had started dating and he had eventually become less shy.
"My favorite is when we also found out that you two were practically known as the dirty dancing couple from back in fourth grade when you two did the tango at the April Fools' Dance. A testimony to that was also when you were dancing all night at one of Rhonda's parties later in high school, and when you the morning after gave a very passionate tango not only once, but twice in front of everyone in the boarding house." Stella said with a big grin. "Rhonda!" Helga and Arnold scolded playfully, but the black-haired girl simply whistled innocently, proving it was indeed she, who had leaked that bit of information.
"One of my favorites was when one of your little friends told us about how you two disappeared" Phil lifted his hands to make air quotes. "… during Helga's very first party for about a half hour." He said. Both Helga and Arnold blushed deeply and turned to their friends. "Who told them about that?!" they asked in unison. Then, one by one, they all raised their hands, Phoebe, Gerald and Aaron ironically enough being the exceptions. Arnold and Helga were just gawking at them all. Helga then leaned back at Arnold. "Good thing they don't know exactly what was going on." She whispered, causing Arnold to nod in agreement. That whole incident, while funny now, was still a pretty embarrassing memory, given the fact that everyone seemed to know about it despite it only being Phoebe, Gerald and Aaron who had ever been told the details.
"And my favorite was when all of your friends walked in on you two in bed together at the hospital, yelling about how much you loved each other." Gertie said with a playful smirk, causing her son and granddaughter-in-law – god, how she loved being able to call Helga that now – to blush in slight embarrassment. "Don't forget us walking in on them sleeping together too and taking a picture of them." Aaron added.
Oh, how could they ever forget? Finding out about Stella taking a picture of them sleeping in that bed together had been one of their most embarrassing and romantic moments. Arnold had been absolutely horrified as first, same as Helga, though she had been the first one to start giggling uncontrollably and even declared she wanted a copy and put it in her locker. After his blushing had somehow died out, even Arnold started to wonder if he'd might follow Helga's example. To his immense surprise, and huge embarrassment, Stella had indeed made it into their Christmas card during Helga and Arnold's senior year. The couple had been mocked, teased and taunted by their peers all through December and January… and February.
"I think that's all of our favorite moments when it comes to your courtship." Phil said teasingly and started laughing his signature 'I'm-such-an-old-coot' laugh. "Whoa, wait a second!" Aaron yelled in the room, earning everyone's attention. "You've completely missed our" he said as he gestured to Arnold and Helga's friends. "favorite moment!" he finished with a mischievous smirk. Arnold and Helga frowned and looked at each other quizzically. "What?" they asked their peers, though they didn't look at them as they all answered in unison: "The proposal!"
Author's 2nd note: Yes! You guessed correctly! Another cliffhanger xD Well, sorta! The second part of the epilogue will be about Arnold proposing to Helga! :D And of course the finish of the wedding :3 Sorry it took so long and then it's still not even the fucking ending, but I hope you won't mind waiting for the next part of the epilogue xD
Oh, and if you want to see a picture of Helga's wedding dress, then please go to my deviantArt account (there's a link for it on my profile here) and sent me a note, asking me for it and you shall receive the picture :3