Hey everyone!

This is a small, two fic companion piece to my recently finished fic, Rebuild a Foundation.

Title: A Gift

An ArnoldxHelga fic

Ages:

Arnold: 24

Helga: 24

Rating: Quite possibly K-T

Summary: Takes place a few years after Rebuild a Foundation. Arnold and Helga have been a couple for a long time now, and the Football Head has a surprise in store for Helga.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold, nor am I affiliated with the actors and/or the creators of the show.

Chapter One

Arnold and Gerald walked out of the store on 5th and Crestman in downtown Hillwood City. Gerald had offered to drive him there, because the blondes car, the Packard, which was given to him by his grandpa as a 21st birthday present (also because the man could no longer drive, due to his eyesight starting to fail).

"So, you're going on a date with Helga tonight, huh?"

Arnold scratched his head and smiled sheepishly as they got into Gerald's car, a 1958 dark red Ford Mustang.

"Uh, yeah. It sure is, Gerald."

Gerald frowned at Arnold's stuttering tone.

"Man, you sound so nervous. Are you sure you're gonna be ok? I can tag along and hide in the bushes, just like I did for you that one time during that Cecile incident."

Arnold chuckled, but shook his head no.

"Gerald, I think at 24 years old, I should be able to handle dates on my own, but thanks for the suggestion."

"No problem, dude. Hey, where did you say you were taking Helga again?"

"It's that really fancy five star restaurant just north of here. You know the one? La Couronne d'Or (1). Helga's been eying to try because—he made quotation symbols with his fingers, quoting is girlfriend's exact words—'according to the menu, the food looks awesome, but the prices are a bitch.'

Gerald laughed at this. As tough as she could be, Helga has a taste for fine dining. He often joked about how she needed to find a well paying job.

"Man, that place? Oh, that place is hella expensive! I can't believe you managed to get the money for that."

It was true. La Couronne d'Or was one of the most expensive restaurants in all of Hillwood.

"Yeah, well, I had help. Anyway, do you think you could come over for a bit? We can hang out while I get ready."

"Yeah, it's cool. No one is home right now, so I'll just die of boredom if I go over there now. Besides, I need to make sure that you don't look like a total dumbass for your big date."

Arnold rolled his eyes, but nonetheless smiled at Gerald's comment.

"Whatever you say, Gerald."

Meanwhile, the Hillwood West Shopping Mall, Helga and Phoebe were out looking for a new dress that Helga could wear for her date with Arnold.

Just as they were about to go into a shop, they heard a loud shriek. They both looked up to see none other than Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, running towards them in black stiletto high heels, her long black hair flowing behind her. She was frantically waving her newly French manicured nails at them.

Rhonda stopped in front of her friends, and began panting heavily.

"I'm…I'm here! Hold on, just…just let me…catch my breath."

Helga arched an eyebrow, and Phoebe giggled. Just an hour ago, Rhonda had texted Phoebe asking the girl if she wanted to hang out for a bit. Phoebe had texted back saying that she and Helga were at the mall, looking for a new dress for Helga to wear to her date with Arnold. When Rhonda read the words 'new date' and 'dress,' she informed Phoebe that she would be there in a flash, claiming that her "presence was required because this was a fashion emergency." And where there was fashion, there was Rhonda.

"Honestly Rhonda, if they had a high heeled long distance sprint at the Olympics, you should really think of joining."

Rhonda rolled her eyes, and began fixing her hair, smoothing it out, and then fluffing it up.

"Nice to see you too, Helga." The words, however, held no tone of annoyance in them.

"So, Rhonda, I see you made it here ok." Phoebe spoke.

Rhonda frowned.

"Yes, and let tell you, taking the bus when you have a car sucks. Like, royally. The only reason I couldn't drive it is because it needs to have something called an oil change. The bus system sucks, like, no joke. And to make matters worse, I swear that some old dude was making eyes at me. It was so repulsive I nearly gagged!"

The black haired woman slapped her hand to her forehead, and threw her head back.

Helga smirked.

"Gross! Are you serious?"

Rhonda nodded.

"Yes, Helga, dead serious. I would have rather made out with Curly."

Helga threw her head back and laughed.

"Wow! That bad, huh?"

The three women then made their way into the shop that Helga and Phoebe were about to venture into.

Rhonda began interrogating the life out of Helga: what color, length, cut and style. She also asked her what the name of the restaurant was, and when Helga told her, her eyes widened. Commoners like Helga and Arnold could barely even begin to afford to eat at that place, so it was a huge surprise to Rhonda.

In fact, Rhonda shifted into full gear as she pranced around the shop, pulling dresses down from practically everywhere.

When she returned, she had a pile of dresses in her arms, all different shades of pink, and dumped them right into Helga's unsuspecting arms.

"There's about 20 in there. Now, go try them on! Come on now, we don't have all day!"

The black haired woman began shoving Helga into a dressing room.

"You must come out and show us every single one! It's a rule when you're shopping with your girlfriends."

Helga rolled her eyes at Rhonda's claim, but nonetheless shut the door and began to look through the dresses.

She picked up one, and began to undress herself. Stepping into the dress, she pulled it up and reaches behind her to zip it up. She frowned when she saw her reflection in the mirror.

Within minutes, she heard Rhonda rapping on the door.

"Are you done yet? Hurry up!"

"Criminy, Rhonda! Will you hold on a second?!"

She opened the door, stepped out, and Rhonda and Phoebe's faces fell.

Phoebe was the only one who tried to make a nice comment.

"Well, it's uhm…it's a nice color, and…"

Rhonda: "Are you kidding? The dress does nothing for your figure, and that pink is way too dark for you. It practically clashes with your blonde hair. No, I simply cannot allow you to wear that…frock for another minute. Go try on another one."

Fifteen dresses later, and they still could not find the right one. There was one that Rhonda really liked, but Helga protested because it was way too short.

Helga picked up another dress that looked like it would do just fine. She slipped it on, looked at her reflection, and smiled.

When she walked out, Phoebe and Rhonda gasped.

Helga stood before them in the new dress.

Rhonda stood up and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Oh my god, that's it! You're buying it! No exceptions!"

Helga knew she was right. It was a beautiful dress, and she felt so…beautiful in it.

"Sure, it's beautiful, but let me see how much this thing costs." She picked up the price tag, and her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when she saw it.

"Yeah, you know what? It's not that beautiful."

Phoebe and Rhonda also set their eyes on the price tag of the dress.

"Wow, that is a lot of money. Helga, I don't think you can afford this!"

Rhonda rolled her eyes.

"It's not that much."

"Actually, Phoebes, I can afford it. I still have money saved up from all those part time jobs. My problem is do I want to spend this much on a dress that I am only going to wear once. And Rhonda, you have no room to talk. Money is never an issue with you."

"So? Who the hell cares? This is a special night, and you're going somewhere that dictates that you wear top notch clothing. Now go buy it!"

After much arguing, Rhonda won out in the end. Helga would never admit it, but she let her win. She really did want that dress. It was unusual for her to think so highly of anything to do with fashion, but there was something…special about it, like she should be the only one allowed to wear it.

Helga paid for the dress, grumbling about how her bank account was going to be in a lot of pain after a purchase like that.

It was then Rhonda's idea that they all go over to her house, where she would help Helga with her makeup, hair and nails.

/Scene Change: Arnold's Place/

Arnold looked himself over in the mirror, twisting and untwisting his aqua blue tie over and over again. So much in fact, that it was starting drive Gerald crazy.

"Dude…can you please stop doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That thing you're doing with your tie."

Arnold sighed.

"I just can't help it, Gerald. I mean, I've never been so nervous in my entire life!

Gerald smirked, folding his arms.

"Not even when you asked Pataki to be your girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah, but that was after she finally confessed how she felt.

It was true, Helga did finally confess how she felt, or rather, she was forced to. It was a few months after her parents' divorce was made official, and she should have double checked to see if she truly was alone when she started pouring out her admiration and devotion to Arnold behind the trashcan.

At first, she was mortified, and it was quite honestly the first time Arnold ever saw Helga begin to stutter uncontrollably. However, he told her that he has known for some time, but wanted to give her the option to admit it herself, rather than force it out of her from the very beginning. He also ensured her that while he couldn't accept her feelings right then and there; he refused to reject them as well. He wanted to get to know her a bit more, see the kind of person she really was. It wasn't entirely what Helga was suspecting, but it was a start to something wonderful.

Arnold's cell phone began to beep, and he took it out of his pocket to see that he had a text from Helga: I'm at Rhonda's, so come and meet me there.

He then looked at the time on the phone: 7:35. He had to hurry if they were to make their reservation, which was at 8 PM sharp.

Yes, Arnold made reservations at one of the fanciest restaurants in all of Hillwood. Made them a year in advance, that is. He only told Helga about it a week ago, and to say she was shocked was an understatement.

Arnold took one last look at his reflection before finally deciding that he was completely satisfied with it.

"Hey, uh…Gerald? Can I ask you a huge favor?"

Gerald: "Sure, man. What's up?"

"Well, do you…are you planning on using your car tonight? Because if not, I was wondering if…"

Gerald smiled.

"Go ahead and use it for as long as you need, but just bring it back by the end of the night."

Arnold smiled. He knew he could always rely on his best friend.

"Thanks, Gerald."

"And don't get any dents or scratch marks on it, either. That thing took months of savings to buy."

Gerald's most prize possession was his car. The only person he trusted to drive it was Arnold. Other than, you did not dare touch even the headlights.

He handed Arnold the car keys, and they both walked out of Arnold's room.

Arnold agreed to drop Gerald off at his place before picking Helga up from Rhonda's.

When he got there, he texted Helga to let her know that he had arrived.

Within minutes, he saw her stepping out the door.

He let out a silent gasp at what he saw.

Walking towards him was Helga Pataki looking in such a way that he had never seen before. Her dress was a rose quartz pink and was sweetheart cut, with pearl rhinestones running along the neck line. A modest slit ran up her dress showing just the right amount of thigh as she walked towards him, and on her feet were strappy white high heeled sandals. Her hair had brought up in a high pony tail and the ends had been tightly curled. On her fingers was a light shade of pink.

When she got closer, he noticed that she had taken the liberty to apply some mascara and a light shade of pink gloss on her lips.

In Arnold's eyes, she was the very picture of a goddess.

She smiled at him.

"Gonna catch files in your mouth if you keep letting it hang open like that, Football Head."

Arnold didn't even realize that his mouth was hanging open.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I….and you….you just look….so beautiful."

Helga let out a small chuckle.

"You had better think that even when I'm not all dolled up like this, Arnoldo, or we're going to have some serious problems.

She got into the car, and they drove off, ready to start this amazing night.

And that's chapter one. Chapter Two will be up shortly, hopefully by this weekend.

Also, according to Google Translator, the name of the restaurant translates to The Golden Crown. I really hope the translation is correct, and if not, anyone who is fluent, or fluent enough in French, please let me know so I can fix it.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!