Title- Possibly Maybe
Author- Victoria
Rating- T
Summary- What if Rory got concerned because Emily didn't come back to the room in The Bracebridge Dinner? What if she went for a walk in hopes of finding her, and instead found a certain hoodlum in the process of destroying a snowman? AU Lit, from TBD.

A/N- Yes. I know. I should be working on IIWII, but I just rewatched The Bracebridge Dinner and this just popped into my head. Don't expect frequent updates on it, because I'm trying to stick to at most two fics-in-progress at a time. I've seen the effect FF stress can have on a person's life, courtesy my idiot cousin. But I just wasn't going to be able to sleep until I wrote this. Literati seems to have this effect on me.
And yes, the title is a reference to the Björk song. It's oddly fitting for canon Lit, and given the Gilmore snowman... well, how could I pass it up?

Chapter One: Snowman Assassins Strike At Midnight

Rory closed her eyes, but she wasn't particularly sleepy and she knew that at this point trying to go to sleep immediately was a bad idea anyway. Next to her, Lorelai rolled over onto her back restlessly, jolting Rory a little further towards the edge. God her mother was a bed hog. And she opened her eyes again, staring at the radiator beneath the window and waiting for the outburst she was sure was coming...

"She's certainly been a long time," Lorelai said at last.

"She said she was going to take a walk. That's what people do when they take walks- they take their time. To think," Rory said. It had been a long and stressful day, and all she wanted to do right now was get some sleep.

Lorelai turned her head to look at her and Rory, sensing the motion, turned over herself in order resignedly. "Well, yes, but you see, this is my mother we're talking about, and when Emily Gilmore says "take a walk" she doesn't mean just walking. She means causing some irreversible drama that will only complicate my life and your life and then somehow finding a way to make it my fault! Or your grandfather's, in this case."

Rory did not want to deal with it right now. "Alright, if it's bugging you that much, I'll go see if I can find her, okay?"

"Okay."

Slipping out of bed, Rory pulled on her shoes onto her bare feet and padded out into the hall in her pajamas.

--

She had wandered over the Inn, but there was no trace of Emily anywhere. Rory yawned, and as she approached the bottom of the stairs, decided to give it up. Her grandmother was a responsible adult; Lorelai was just being irrational. But as she passed the doorway to the foyer, she caught a glimpse of movement. Ducking back behind the door frame, she peered cautiously around.

Jess Mariano was sneaking out... not that that should have surprised her. As he eased the front door open with the casual ease of long experience, he glanced around to be sure he wasn't being observed. Rory ducked back behind the door post to avoid detection. When she heard the door shut, she peeked around again. He was gone.

Curiosity overwhelmed her, and before she could even think about what she was doing, Rory had hurried across the foyer to the door. She grabbed her coat from the pegs in the hall and slipped it on over her pajamas. Then she pushed the door open, with none of the grace Jess had done. And then she was out in the crystal frost night. She took a moment to stare up appreciatively at the clear sky and the coldly sparkling stars, then looked around for Jess.

For a moment, she thought he'd disappeared completely, but then she caught sight of his retreating form making his way towards the center of Stars Hollow. Making a snap judgment, she followed him.

Even as she tailed him from a safe distance, Rory questioned her motives. What the heck was she doing? Why was she following this guy around in the dead of night? It wasn't a crime to take a walk, but somehow she felt guilty. She felt like she was cheating on Dean. And that made no sense. She was just taking a walk! Why on earth should she feel guilty about something so absolutely innocent?

Unfortunately, if she were brutally honest with herself, Rory could answer that question. Jess was... well, he was Jess. He was irascible and fiercely annoying, but he was also extremely interesting and- again, Rory had to force herself to be honest even in her own head- extremely attractive. She could forget about him when Dean was directly present, but the rest of the time, Rory was finding that her thoughts wandered around to Jess far more often than Dean if her boyfriend wasn't right there in front of her. And it bothered her. She didn't like Jess. She didn't! She was in love with Dean.

"What do you and Dean talk about?"

She had reacted defensively, insisting that she and Dean talked about all sorts of things. And they did. But the truth was, every time she tried to delve into a more complex topic, Dean's eyes would go blank and he would simply nod along and humor her, all the while most likely wondering what she was talking about it.

But that was why she loved him, right? Because even when he had no clue what she was saying, he still listened to her. It made no difference that there was no stimulation from his conversation.

"He just doesn't seem like your kind of guy."

Oh really, Jess? she replied to the memory. And who exactly is my type of guy, do you think? Well, one possible answer to that question presented itself, but Rory was already too worked up to even think about that. She didn't like Jess, not that way, anyway. And though she was pretty certain he liked her, or at least tolerated her (which, from what she understood of Jess, was the equivalent of liking her), she had no interest in going there. She had a wonderful boyfriend, whom she couldn't stand the idea of hurting.

Rory was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't realize that Jess had stopped walking. Just in time, she noticed his sudden halt and ducked behind a tree to observe him, trying to repress the thought that this was extremely stalkerish behavior.

Curiously, she watched him, wondering what business he could possibly have in the middle of the town square. Her question was soon answered when Jess approached the elaborate snowman they'd complained about before and proceeded to knock its head off with a neatly executed right hook. Despite her intentions of remaining unobserved, Rory burst out laughing.

Jess whipped around. "Who- Rory?"

She stepped out from behind her tree. "Busted," she mumbled, blushing.

"What're you doing out here?" he asked.

Rory shrugged. "I saw you sneaking out. Thought I'd make sure you weren't going to murder any more of your imaginary friends in front of Doose's. So here I am. Purely for the sake of preventing any more... disturbances of the peace." She felt a ramble coming on and cut herself off before she could betray the discomfiture she always felt in his presence.

He nodded, the surprise fading from his face to be replaced by his trademark smirk. "Good. For a minute there, I thought I had a John Hinckley Jr. on my hands."

And there it was, the opening for the easy banter that had quickly become their M.O. She grinned. "No, you don't. Trust me. You wouldn't make a very good Iris Steensma, anyway."

"Well now I'm just offended!" he joked.

"Somehow I thought you'd be glad not to be compared to Jodie Foster."

He shrugged. "So then I'm Travis Bickle?"

Rory pondered that. Finally, she said, "Maybe."

"Rory Gilmore, indecisive. Never thought I'd see the day."

Oh, you have no idea just how indecisive I am, she thought. Then mentally slapped herself. Where was this coming from? It seemed to happen every time she was around him- one of them would say something witty and the other would respond and the bottom half of her face would start grinning all by itself and she felt giddy with the excitement of talking to someone who always understood exactly what she was talking about and... and... and these were not appropriate thoughts to be having about someone who wasn't her boyfriend. Quickly, she elected to change the subject.

"So, do you mind telling me why you're destroying the snowman?"

Jess shrugged. His expression was hard to read: he didn't wear that oddly comforting smirk, but he didn't look angry or unhappy either. His face was just... blank. "Thought I'd take care of the fool who dares challenge the Gilmore reign of..." He struggled with a way to finish his sentence.

"Björk-ness?" she suggested.

"That works."

Rory smiled. "Then I suppose a thank you is in order," she said sincerely. "Thanks, Jess. This was really sweet of you."

He ran a hand over his hair, an oddly awkward expression on his face. But he recovered quickly. "Don't tell anybody," he mock-whispered. "It'd ruin my image."

"Oh, but you damaged a contest entry before it could be judged. I think according to Taylor, that counts as a felony. I'd say your image is pretty safe," she teased. Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration and knelt down to pick up the half of the snowman's head that was lying at their feet. "This guy, though," she said with feigned sadness. "I'm afraid his image is ruined forever. And I think he's going to want revenge." With no warning, she hurled the chunk of snow directly into Jess's startled face.

For a second he just stood there, blinking through the white flakes that pasted his cheeks. Then he smirked. "Oh, Gilmore, you are on!" he cried, bending down to scoop up a handful of snow himself. He quickly formed a snowball and sent it flying her direction. Rory dodged ineffectually, and when he sent another snowball flying her way, she was forced to use the decapitated snowman as a shield to prevent him from getting in a second hit.

"Oh no you don't!" he exclaimed. "You won't get away from me that easily!"

He darted around the snowman after her, snowball in hand. With a scream of laughter that she only managed to muffle because of her consciousness of the lateness of the hour, Rory leapt away from him. She stumbled a little as she reached down to grab another handful of snow, but recovered her balance and formed the snow into a neat little ball even as she dodged his next missile.

Rory lobbed the snowball across the space where the snowman's head had previously resided, smacking Jess with a satisfying thunk! against his leather-covered shoulder. As he seemed to be heading left around the snow figure, she ducked to the right to evade him. But at the last moment, he changed direction and as she came around the snowman, they collided with enough force to send them both crashing down into the snow.

Rory lay half on top of him, breathing hard from laughter but suddenly unable to do more than gasp for air around the unexpected tightness in her chest. Jess lay perfectly still beneath her, staring at her with a look that, on anyone else, she would have described as "deer in the headlights." His brown eyes, staring into her blue ones, were darker than she remembered- and suddenly she realized that they were dark with desire.

Desire for her.

Rational thought went out the window. Dean was nowhere near her thoughts. She forgot that her mother was probably waiting for her to return to the hotel room. Instead, she crossed the last inch between their mouths and kissed Jess.

He responded with unexpected passion, teasing at her lips with his and bringing a hand up to cup the side of her face, fingertips sliding into her hair. His lips were cool at first, from the frigid temperatures outside, but as the kiss stretched on, they warmed up. As they did so, the intensity of the kiss increased as well.

God, it was as if she'd never been kissed before! If this was what it could be like, she had been missing out all this time! Almost, she was able to forget about it all. Almost, she left all thoughts of Dean, and Lorelai, and how insane this was, because it felt so good. But as the kiss deepened, her mind caught up to her hormones and she jerked back, stunned.

"Oh my god." Already berating herself, she clambered off him, backing away.

"Rory--" he began, getting to his feet and ignoring the snow that had attached itself to his jacket, his hair, his jeans...

"Oh my god!" she half-yelled. She gulped in a lungful of air like glass shards and modulated her voice back into its normal range. "I... Jess, I... I have to go! My... my mom is waiting for me to come back to the room and I..." She continued to retreat from him. "Don't say a word, Jess!" He nodded, but the gesture was lost on her back as she turned tail and fled.

Oh god this was going to be a mess...

Meanwhile, Jess stood in the snow next to the partially demolished snow figure, watching her retreat. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and a slight smile twitched at the corners of his swollen lips. Something told him this was the start of something...

As I said, don't expect REALLY regular updates. I might put out some here and there, but until I get IIWII wrapped up, they won't be frequent.