Boober frowned at his alter ego hopping around and giggling, the feathers on his hat bouncing along with him.
"What do you want, Sidebottom?" He asked in annoyance.
"Word on the street is that you've fallen in love," Sidebottom answered. "Who is the fraggle that has caught your eye?"
"Can we not discuss this?"
"Oh come on! You can tell me!"
Boober sighed, knowing that Sidebottom wouldn't let up until he got an answer.
"Alright, fine. Let's just say that she's a very brave and athletic fraggle with a magic sword and beautiful long black hair."
"Oooh, she sounds spicy!" Sidebottom said before hopping around again. "Tell me more!"
"Do I have to?"
"Yes, I wanna know more about your lover girl."
Boober blushed at the mention of 'lover girl.' Nevertheless, he continued.
"I've only known her for 2 days, so there's not much I can say. But I really like her. A lot."
"So ask her out."
"I can't, Sidebottom. She'll say no. And probably laugh at me."
Sidebottom remained silent for a minute before speaking again.
"Okay listen, Boober," he began. "I have a plan that will make that raven-haired fraggle with the magic sword fall head over heels for you."
"And what might that be?" Boober asked pessimistically, already doubting Sidebottom.
"Just let me out and let me work my magic."
"WHAT?!"
"Trust me on this Boober. Women love a guy who can make them laugh. I'll just have a little bit of fun with her and she'll be wanting to spend more time with you afterward."
"No, it's you Jessa will like. Not me."
"What difference does it make which one of us she likes? We're the same person."
Boober thought for a minute. Was it worth letting Sidebottom out just so he could have a chance with Jessa? And more importantly, what would she think about him afterward? Would Jessa love him, much less accept him? On the other hand, Sidebottom did heighten his friends' opinions of him one time after Gobo insulted his home remedies. If he could do that, he might win the heart of the fraggle he loved.
"I never thought I would say this, but help me out here."
"Is that a 'yes Sidebottom' I'm hearing?"
"It's a 'yes,' now go! And don't screw this up."
Sidebottom and Boober switched places as he took over his body. Back in the laundry room, Sidebottom woke up with a giggle before running off.
The girls had long since fallen asleep, as well as everyone else in Fraggle Rock. Everyone except Sidebottom, who snuck by the room Jessa was sleeping in and decided to make a little bit of noise.
"This should wake her up." He said before giggling.
Sidebottom grabbed a nearby vine and pulled it tight enough, letting it go as it snapped and created a low twang. In the next room, Jessa groaned and opened her eyes, sitting up and looking around.
"Mokey? Red? Did you guys hear that?" Jessa asked, only to receive no answer from either of them as they were sound asleep.
The noise sounded again, and she got up to go investigate, taking her sword with her just in case. Sidebottom continued pulling vines until he heard Jessa approach.
"Boober?" She asked after putting her sword away into her holster. "What are you doing?"
Sidebottom turned to face her, only to be stunned by how gorgeous she was. He blushed furiously, his jaw dropped, and his tail wagged like crazy. His pupils would have dilated into big red hearts if his eyes were visible. Eventually, Sidebottom began to grin like a dork and before Jessa knew it, he began to hit on her.
"Hel-lo!" He flirted while scooting closer to her.
"Hi," Jessa replied, a little disturbed by his behavior. "What are you still doing up this late?"
"Having a bit of fun, Sugar Lips."
"Excuse me?" Jessa asked while Sidebottom kissed the back of her hand. "It's 1 in the morning, Boober."
"I'm not Boober, I'm Sidebottom."
Jessa frowned in annoyance.
"Don't be stupid. I know you're Boober. You're not fooling me with this outfit."
She then noticed the length of his hair and reached out to touch it.
"When did your hair get longer?"
Sidebottom blushed and giggled like a schoolboy as she ran her fingers through a strand of his red hair.
"Now let me touch your hair, Sugar Lips."
"Uh, my name is Jessa, not Sugar Lips," she said with a bit of sass in her voice.
Sidebottom heard her of course, but he didn't care. Instead, he just played with her hair.
"You've got some beautiful locks on you," he said before burying his face into her scalp.
Jessa was at a loss as to what to do next until Sidebottom attempted to hug her from behind, prompting her to grab his hands before he could complete the gesture.
"So is grabbing on other fraggles your idea of fun?" Jessa asked sarcastically.
"Maybe," Sidebottom answered before intertwining his fingers with hers.
"Dude!" Jessa yelled, pulling away entirely. "What is wrong with you?!"
"Can you blame me, Sugar Lips?"
Jessa sighed, utterly confused by his behavior.
"You weren't like this hours ago."
"That's because you were interacting with Boober. I'm his fun side that he keeps at the bottom, hence my name, Sidebottom."
"Clever," she replied in a deadpan tone as he bounced around.
Before she could do anything else, Sidebottom grabbed her hand and led her.
"Come on," he said.
"Where are we going?"
"To the gorg's garden."
Jessa had no clue what was in store as Sidebottom led her out there. Luckily, the gorgs were asleep so they could just walk out there undisturbed. However, Junior had installed a trap after his battle with Jessa, making it even harder to go in there.
"Looks like that gorg has been busy," Jessa said once they arrived.
Sidebottom grinned at her as she observed the trap, trying to figure out a way around it.
"If we're going to hang out here, we're going to have to be very careful."
"I've got a question."
"What is it?"
"What's funny and slides down a rock?"
Jessa gave him a confused look, but before she could reply, Sidebottom got up and slid down off the rock and into the grass.
"Hey!" Jessa called out. "Did you not see that big trap in front of us?! Get your butt back here!"
"Watch this, Sugar Lips!" Sidebottom shouted as he bounced up and triggered the trap.
Jessa gasped, thinking he had trapped himself, and slid down the rock to go free him.
"Boober!"
"Over here!"
Jessa turned to see Sidebottom leaning against the Nirvana Tree as if he hadn't just set off the trap.
"Are you crazy?!" She scolded.
"Yeah, very crazy."
Before Jessa could chew him out, Junior walked out upon hearing his trap.
"Dang it," she whispered as Sidebottom put his arm around her and pulled her closer behind the tree.
They both hid as Junior walked outside, giggling in triumph.
"I knew this trap would work," he said before checking to see how many Fraggles he captured.
Sidebottom snickered.
"Little does he know that he has very shoddy craftsmanship," he said to Jessa, his arm still wrapped around her waist.
Jessa glanced down at his hand on her side, his thumb caressing her. For some reason, she felt her cheeks heat up, but her attention was redirected back to the gorg when he realized what had happened.
"Hey, there's no Fwaggles in here!" Junior fussed.
"That's because you're not smart enough to make a decent trap!" Sidebottom shouted after he jumped out from behind the tree.
Jessa watched as the gorg tried to catch him, but he was too fast.
"I'm gonna get you Fwaggle!" Junior shouted while failing to capture Sidebottom.
Jessa couldn't help but smile at him while he evaded the gorg.
"Boober Fraggle, you are quite the enigma," she said in amusement before stepping out from behind the tree.
"Hey!" She shouted as Junior turned around. "Remember me, big guy?"
Jessa then aimed her sword at the trap and shot a lightning bolt from it, destroying what Junior put together from scratch. Sidebottom cackled in the distance while Junior was upset about his trap.
"No! I worked so hard on this trap."
"Yeah, and it looks like your hard work hasn't paid off too well, has it," Jessa mocked before joining Sidebottom.
"Good one, Sugar Lips," he said before holding her hand. "Come on."
He led Jessa to the radish patch before Junior could see them.
"He sure is pathetic," Jessa said to him. "And this is what the fraggles are afraid of?"
While they were hiding, Junior got up and tried to find them but couldn't. Jessa peeked from behind the radish while Sidebottom still held her hand.
"I'm thinking about doing something very blasphemous," she whispered to him.
Sidebottom's tail began to wag as he blushed. Jessa stepped away and pointed her sword forward as it lit up a pale purple and shot out a loud beacon, hitting one of the rooftops of the gorg's castle and breaking off a few shingles.
"Fwaggles!" Junior shouted as Sidebottom melted.
He stood there with a lovestruck smile on his face and his baloobius glowed.
"Hey dumbass, we're over here!" Jessa shouted before grabbing Sidebottom's arm and running out of the radish patch and closer to the castle.
Junior ran toward the garden by the time they ran past the rock and closer to the castle. But Junior stomped his foot on the ground, the vibration causing Jessa to lose her balance and fall. But Sidebottom caught her before she could hit the ground. Jessa looked up and blushed, as they were in a ballroom dance-like position.
"Sugar Lips, did anyone ever tell you that you look hot with a sword?"
Jessa blushed even deeper, flattered by his comment.
"I'm gonna get you Fwaggles!"
"Grab on!" Jessa commanded after standing back up.
With Sidebottom holding onto her, Jessa pointed her sword up at the roof as it transformed into a giant tape measure. The tape shot upwards and connected to a hook, allowing Jessa and Sidebottom to ascend to the roof.
"Woo-hoo!" Sidebottom shouted before they landed.
Junior growled in frustration as he was unable to reach them. Sidebottom and Jessa laughed at Junior's tantrum while he hugged her from behind.
"You Fwaggles think you're so slick!" Junior shouted. "Just wait until the next time, I'll get you for sure!"
"Junior!" an angry voice came from within the castle.
Out walked two other gorgs, one of which was blue and the other was pink with blonde hair.
"What do you think you're doing making all this racket?!" Pa Gorg shouted angrily.
"I was catching some fwaggles, Pa."
"In the middle of the night?!" Ma Gorg asked, just as irritated as her husband. "I need my beauty sleep."
"She needs a lot of it," Sidebottom remarked, making Jessa laugh.
"But Ma-"
"No buts, Junior!" Pa Gorg interrupted. "You clean up this mess and go back to bed! And I don't want to hear another word about fraggles, you got that?!"
"Yes, Pa," Junior answered begrudgingly before picking up pieces of his trap.
Ma and Pa Gorg went back inside to resume their slumber, leaving Junior to clean up.
"One word, busted," Jessa said to Sidebottom.
"You said it, Sugar Lips," he replied before burying his face into her hair.
Jessa blushed before glancing down at his arms wrapped around her waist, her cheeks heating up again.
"What is wrong with me?!" She thought to herself.
Her thoughts were then interrupted by Junior complaining to himself, so Jessa looked for a place to hide until he went inside.
"Come on," she said to Sidebottom while grabbing his hand. "Let's get away from the gorg before he spots us again."
Sidebottom didn't object and followed her to a spot where neither of them could be seen.
The rest of the night was spent lounging on the roof of the gorg's castle. By this point, Junior had finished cleaning up the garden and had gone back to bed, leaving Jessa and Sidebottom to joke around and laugh.
"That gorg was so dumb it was easy to hypnotize him," he told her as she listened. "I'm willing to bet a shovel can outdo him on an IQ test."
Jessa laughed.
"Assuming the shovel doesn't get beat by a rake," she joked back.
Sidebottom laughed at this before turning to face her, resting his face on his fist and smiling at her.
"Anything can outwit that gorg, Sugar Lips."
"Yeah, no kidding."
A moment of silence passed between them as he gazed at her before she spoke again.
"That was also hilarious what you said about the female gorg," she admitted.
"She doesn't have a face as alluring as yours, that's for sure."
Jessa blushed, not knowing how to respond. This only made Sidebottom chuckle as he scooted closer and placed two fingers on her wrist.
"Boober…?"
He didn't say anything and made his index and middle fingers walk up her arm, making her blush even deeper.
"Somebody's walking on you, Sugar Lips," he teased.
"Yeah, your fingers," she replied.
Sidebottom grinned and continued walking his fingers up Jessa's bicep. When he reached her shoulder, he stopped and placed his whole hand on it.
"What are you doing exactly?" Jessa asked as he leaned in and began tickling her, taking her by surprise.
"Hey! What the?" She protested before laughing.
"Tickle fight!" He shouted.
"Tickle fight, my ass," Jessa said in between laughs.
Sidebottom listened to her laughter while tickling her, loving the sound of her laugh. He kept going until she finally grabbed his hands to make him stop.
"Alright, alright," she said. "You really had me there."
"Tickle fights are fun, aren't they."
"Yeah, if you're the one instigating them."
In his subconscious, Boober decided to peek and take a look at what was happening so far. He couldn't bear to do it at first in case Jessa rejected his advances. He rose but didn't take his body back from Sidebottom just yet. Boober was expecting failure, heartbreak, and rejection, but to his surprise, Jessa was smiling, giggling, and chatting with Sidebottom. He was talking to her as she smiled at him. As Sidebottom told another joke, Jessa noticed Boober's silhouette next to him and had a look of shock on her face. Boober stared back at her, wondering what was going on. It wasn't until Jessa looked at Sidebottom and back at Boober that he realized that she could see him. But how? He wasn't interacting with her at all. As far as he could remember, nobody else could see him when Sidebottom was out and vice versa. So how could she? He then thought, if Jessa could see him, could she hear him as well?
"Jessa!" He called out.
However, this proved to be useless as she didn't respond. Sidebottom finished telling his joke before Jessa noticed he was done.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you. I was lost in thought."
"Ah don't worry about it, Sugar Lips," he replied before leaning in again. "Let's play another game."
"What game do you have in mind?" Jessa asked as Sidebottom moved her hair and buried his face into her neck, taking her by surprise.
Boober couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Sidebottom, what are you doing?!" He shouted. "This was not part of the plan!"
Sidebottom ignored him as he placed one hand on Jessa's stomach and held her hand with his other one, his baloobius lighting up and his tail wagging. Before she could protest, he began kissing her neck. Jessa gasped, trying not to blush the whole time. Boober frowned and tried pulling Sidebottom back into his mind but to no avail.
"She's not a piece of meat!" He yelled. "Stop doing that to her!"
Sidebottom ignored him, still kissing on her neck. Jessa's cheeks had turned red while he intertwined his fingers with hers and used his other hand to caress her stomach. The kisses were gentle yet very passionate, flustering Jessa. Boober screamed while gritting his teeth. How in the world was he going to explain this to her once he came back out?!
"She's going to hate me for sure," he said to himself.
"No she isn't," Sidebottom replied telepathically. "Look."
Boober looked at Jessa and noticed how flustered she was. Still, he didn't approve of Sidebottom smooching her without her consent. By the time he began leaving kisses on her jawline, Jessa's tail started to wag.
"Sidebottom…" she began as he stole another kiss.
"Yeah, Sugar Lips?" He whispered in her ear.
He then nuzzled her neck and rested there, much to Boober's relief.
"How long have we been out here?"
"No idea."
Jessa gazed at the horizon, trying to calm herself from what had happened when she saw the sun peeking.
"Shit, have we been out here the entire night?!" She asked in surprise.
Boober and Sidebottom looked to see the sun rising.
"Now's my cue to come back out," he said to Sidebottom.
"I've done my job anyway."
"How? All you did was kiss her neck."
"But I planted a seed in her mind. Now she'll want to spend more time with you from this point on."
With that, Sidebottom disappeared back into Boober's subconscious as the latter returned to the real world, next to Jessa as she was blushing and rubbing her neck where Sidebottom kissed her.
"Jessa, are you okay?" he asked shyly as she turned around.
She noticed that Sidebottom was no longer next to her.
"What was that all about?" She asked him after a minute of silence.
"What can I say? I'm sorry!"
There was a lot of guilt in Boober's voice when he apologized. He then hung his head down in shame, unable to look her in the eye.
"I understand if you hate me now."
"Don't worry, I don't."
Boober looked up at her in surprise.
"I should be angry at you, but I'm not."
"Why?"
How could Jessa answer this? Truthfully, the only reason she could see Boober through Sidebottom was due to her secret that she didn't want to reveal. Plus, she liked the intimacy. But she wasn't about to tell Boober that.
"You weren't yourself during that time, Boober. I kind of suspected something was off."
Boober looked away in embarrassment, but this was short-lived when Jessa put her hand on his shoulder.
"Just don't worry about it. Okay?"
Boober couldn't believe he was being forgiven so easily after… that. After Sidebottom kissed her neck so many times, he thought for sure he would be dead. Yet here he was, still in Jessa's good graces.
"Okay," he finally replied.
Jessa then removed her hand, though Boober wished she kept it on his shoulder. He then looked at her again while her attention was on the morning sun.
"Nice sunrise," she said as Boober looked at it.
"Yeah," he replied as they both stared at the sun rising. "Very beautiful."
Instead of immediately returning to Fraggle Rock, Boober and Jessa stayed on the roof of the gorg's castle and watched the sunrise, both smiling to themselves.