Valentine's Day was coming up in Fraggle Rock, and everyone was excited. Well, everyone except Boober. Not that he hated the holiday as he still enjoyed letting his friends know he cared about them. But because he always had a hard time asking out a certain fraggle. The fraggle in question was none other than Gobo's cousin, Jessa. Boober sighed sadly while scrubbing some clothes in his washtub. He had been in love with her for years. Jessa was beautiful, witty, athletic, sarcastic, and as brave as Gobo himself. Boober wasn't the only fraggle who thought so. A lot of other fraggles were also crushing on Jessa.

But Boober's feelings went beyond infatuation. He knew Jessa better than anyone else in the rock. He knew what her music taste was, what dishes of his she liked and didn't like, how she preferred to style her hair, what her favorite color was, and what her hobbies were—all of that stuff. Since Jessa was a private person, Boober felt special knowing these things about her. He still remembered the moment he first laid eyes on Jessa.

They were small children, Jessa was playing frisbee with Gobo and Red while Boober had been in a corner reading one of his books. He was so invested in a chapter that it attracted the attention of bullies. Boober was too cowardly to defend himself, and the fraggles picking on him would have a field day. Jessa had noticed Boober's predicament and threw the Frisbee she caught from Red at one of their heads.

"Who let a gang of meatheads in this rock?" She asked them rather harshly.

Boober remembered how Jessa kicked them in the shins before any of them had a chance to insult her. Boober was captivated by Jessa while she made the bullies pay. She was a lovely dark purple fraggle with long, straight black hair. Jessa had asked Boober if he was alright, but he couldn't muster up the courage to even thank her. Gobo had witnessed the whole thing and came to check on his pal. Boober felt embarrassed that he couldn't speak, but Jessa was so beautiful.

From that day forward, they became friends, though Boober never stopped loving Jessa. And each year, his feelings grew stronger. Now, adults, they were particularly close. They knew each other inside and out and often hung out with one another. Despite this, however, Boober had his doubts about Jessa ever returning his feelings. She hadn't let on that she liked anyone in particular, much less which team she played for. This made it even harder to figure out, and Boober sighed again.

"This is going to be another year of unrequited love," he told himself solemnly.

Before Boober could feel sorry for himself, he heard Jessa and Red giggling as they walked back from the Great Hall. Boober felt his heart racing, his face heating up and his tail wagging. Red and Jessa had just gotten done sparring with each other in the Great Hall and were heading back to their room. Boober put his wet clothes on his clotheslines to dry and loaded the last of his clean laundry into his wagon before exiting his hole. At least the chore of delivering freshly washed clothes would take his mind off Jessa.

"You should've seen the way I threw that punch," Red bragged. "I almost had you."

"Good thing I was a centimeter from getting destroyed," Jessa replied in a rather chill tone.

Boober began his usual path, his laundry wagon right in front of him, as he strolled to where Jessa and Red were coming from in the other direction. Boober stared at Jessa's face and admired her smile, her silver eyes, and the way her hair swayed behind her in the form of her signature ponytail. Her sideswept bangs rested just above her eyebrows. Her outfit was, of course, her usual black sleeveless crop top, black ripped skinny jeans, and black combat boots. Boober blushed immensely the closer he got. No matter how many times he had seen that face, it never failed to make him melt. By that point, Boober's heart was dancing around in his chest, and his palms were sweating so bad he could hardly grip the handles of his laundry wagon. Aside from being attractive, Jessa was also tall. Not as tall as Mokey, who stood a good 2 inches above Jessa, but she was taller than Boober, Red, Gobo, and Wembley. Boober began to pick up on their conversation as he approached them.

"How many Valentines do you think you'll get this year?" Red asked her.

"Bold of you to assume that I keep count," Jessa answered.

"Why do I have a feeling Marlon is going to try to convince you to be his queen for that religion of his?"

Jessa shuddered in response.

"Please don't mention him in my presence."

Boober couldn't blame Jessa one bit for being creeped out by Marlon. Along with trying to start a sadistic cult, he also was a huge pervert. Boober never liked Marlon that much to begin with, but this turned into hatred whenever Jessa was put into the equation. He hated how he invaded her personal space, how he spoke to her in such a lewd manner, and how Marlon always attempted to touch Jessa's boobs. But being a tough woman, this usually resulted in Jessa punching Marlon or slapping him. Boober loathed how uncomfortable he made her feel.

"I'm surprised he hasn't given up considering how many times I've whipped his butt," Jessa added just as Boober approached her and Red.

All 3 of them stopped, and Jessa smiled.

"Hi Boober," she greeted him.

Boober couldn't help but grin and greet her back.

"Hi Jessa," he replied, his voice shaky from how lovestruck he was with her.

Red smirked, knowing about Boober's long-time crush on Jessa. She also couldn't help but snicker when his tail started wagging.

"I see you're about to give people their clean clothes," Jessa pointed out.

"Y-yeah," Boober stuttered. "It's my job, after all."

It was at that moment that he remembered that one of Jessa's band tees was in his wagon, so Boober began rummaging through his load.

"I suppose you want your band tee back."

Jessa was surprised that he would dig through his laundry wagon just to find one shirt, and she couldn't help but blush. Boober found it and let it fall from the folded form he had put it in.

"That stain was a little hard to get rid of, but I managed."

Jessa smiled and felt her tail wag as she took her shirt from him.

"I'll say," she replied while examining her top.

Boober repressed the urge to giggle like a lovestruck moron.

"Just know that it was Red's fault. She brought radish juice into our room."

"You were drinking it too, Jessa," Red interjected.

"Yeah, until you spilled it on me."

"So that's what happened to all the radish juice," Boober said. "I looked in the fridge this morning, and it looked like someone had consumed it overnight."

"Don't worry, Boober," Jessa told him. "She brought glasses with her too. We didn't drink the juice straight from the gallon."

"I was thirsty," Red justified.

"And sloppy, apparently," Boober added.

Jessa giggled in response, making him blush. Her laugh was so cute! Before any more could be said, Gobo called out to Jessa.

"Hey Jessa, I found a new cave for us to explore. Come check out this map."

"Coming cuz," Jessa replied before thanking Boober for washing her shirt.

He watched her walk off into Gobo and Wembley's room, his cheeks still red and his tail still wagging. Red cleared her throat, and Boober turned to see her smirking.

"Don't give me that look, Red," he said while attempting to continue on his way.

But before Boober could take even one step, Red opened her mouth.

"How many more years are you going to keep pining over her?" Red asked him. "It's so obvious that you love Jessa even a gorg could sense it."

"What do the gorgs have to do with this?"

"Nothing. My point is just go ahead and tell Jessa how you feel."

"Easier said than done," Boober lamented. "Besides, she won't return my feelings."

"You never know until you say something. Why do you think Jessa hasn't said yes to anyone else yet?"

"What are you implying?"

"Find some way to confess your feelings."

"No, I'll embarrass myself."

"Fine Boober, be a lovesick coward," Red said sympathetically. "But she has to know at some point."

Boober merely grunted and went on his way, while Red just rolled her eyes. Who was she to offer love advice anyway? Boober rolled his wagon around Fraggle Rock, giving clean clothes back to their owners. Despite the joy it gave him, Boober was unfortunately subjected to overhearing a few comments about Jessa from other fraggles and how they would win her heart.

"I wonder if Gobo's pretty cousin will say yes to me this year," someone said.

"Good luck with that," their friend replied. "Jessa is one tough nut to crack."

Envy building up inside of him, Boober growled and gripped his wagon, pushing it faster than his normal pace. If there was one thing Jessa was extremely private about, it was her love life. Boober finished the last of his laundry delivery before returning to his hole, but not before passing by Gobo and Jessa still discussing a different tunnel. Boober stopped just outside their hole to hear the sound of her voice.

"The last time we went to this place, there were poison cacklers everywhere," Gobo said to her.

"You know how to pick these places, don't you," Jessa replied.

"They weren't even supposed to be there."

Boober remembered that time all too well. Not that he actually with with them, but he remembered Gobo and Jessa running back with scratches and bruises all over. Jessa's sword was even covered in blood. Fearing for Jessa's health and safety, Boober made sure she didn't get any staph infections. Jessa reassured him by saying it was no big deal, but Boober couldn't help but worry. He loved her very much! After eavesdropping on their conversation, he sighed hopelessly and went back to his hole.