Run To Me

This is supposed to be fun....

Molly groaned and looked at the clock. What the heck? 5.30am screamed at her in glorious red numerals, making her eyes hurt and her mind scream obscenities at her. She'd hardly stirred when there was a knock at the front door of the flat. Oh God, she groaned to herself. He didn't forget.

Staggering out of bed and grabbing a robe, she shuffled to the door and yanked it open with a humph. "Come in, you slave driver," she mumbled as she ran a hand through her hair and tried to wake up.

"Darling you look AMAZING this morning, so far the best I've ever seen you," the voice from the other side of her half- closed lids chirped "I know you're going to love this. Do get changed, love, or are you planning to run in this attractive little get up?"

"SHUT UP JAMES!" she growled and slammed the bedroom door.

James laughed and leaned on the edge of the table in the hall. He was tall, rangy, and dark-haired. People always said he looked like a bit like Benedict Cumberbatch, but he couldn't see it himself. Maybe it was the eyes he thought as he stared at himself in the hall mirror. Maybe it was the scathing sarcasm, a la Sherlock Holmes. Either way, he didn't care much. Never a self obsessed man, unusual in his line of work, he was more interested in the mileage he could get out of torturing Molly. His little sister was his pride, joy, and constant source of amusement. Being several years older than her, he'd pretty much brought her up. Their parents decided to do a bunk to some remote part of the world when she was fourteen, and he was about to have a decent career as a professional stuntman.

Stunt work had waited and waited, and now? Well, he was too old for that malarkey. He was the wrong side of 45, but he hadn't regretted the last 20-odd years of his life. Not for a second. Especially now it was time for payback. A professional personal trainer, hence the interest in running. Molly and he had always run for fun, she was half his height so they made for an interesting combination. Little and Large. Hinge and Bracket. Wallace and Gromit. Peas in a pod. He loved her, but oh boy, did he love teasing her more. He'd never be cruel, never make her cry, but years of sibling rivalry had polished their sarcasm to a fine edge.

Molly appeared in her running kit, looking marginally more human. "Remind me, brother DARLING," she drawled. "Why EXACTLY we are doing this? I'm perfectly capable of running on my own. I have been for quite some time, you know." she swatted him on the way to the door, "and stop looking in the blasted mirror. You still look like him, and I still hate you."

She stopped and grinned at him. "You know I hate you more than anyone on the entire planet, don't you?" she opened the door and paused, waiting.

"And my DARLING sister, I DESPISE you more than I can ever say." he stood up and walked out, stretching in the early morning light."Never forget that, ok? Absolutely can't stand you." he kissed her cheek."Never could."

As they jogged down the front steps of her building and along the road, they looked at each other and, as always, smiled. It was their code. It was the two of them, together against the world. Well, almost the two of them. James was married to the most understanding and long-suffering woman Molly had ever met. Helen just understood. Molly had loved her from the moment they'd met. The big sister she'd never had, although in truth, they were only a couple of years apart. Naturally, Molly had accused James of cradle snatching, and he had accused her of being a jealous harridan. Everything was perfect. More or less.

Molly was single. Molly had been single for a VERY long time. She'd been married once for six miserable months. To a man no one had liked, truthfully not even Molly. It had ended acrimoniously, and she'd never had a relationship again. Happy she said. Content, she said. He didn't need a man to make her happy she said. That was what Shakespeare and Marvel were for. James knew differently. James never gave up. He still hadn't.

"You didn't answer you nutcase" she said as they jogged into the nearby park, just beginning to be populated by early morning dog-walkers and other runner.

"I want you to be a training buddy for someone, someone I've just taken on as a new client. I was recommended by a mutual friend, and he's meeting us this morning to go for a light jog and a little chat. I want you there to break the ice as it were. We've only met for a few minutes and spoken on the phone. He seems keen, so I think this is really the make or break impression." he didn't look at her. To be honest, he couldn't. If he had, she might have seen the mischief in his eyes.

"What are you up to?" she said, narrowing her eyes."I know that look,"

"What look, you can't see my face."

"Exactly."

She was running without looking, concentrating on trying to work out what James had up his sleeve. She was so busy concentrating that she ran around the corner and straight into someone coming the other way.

Before she knew where she was, she was lying on the ground, a tangle of limbs and embarrassment.

As she tried to remove herself from what turned out to be another runner, she was aware of James almost convulsing in hysterics.

"You idiot James!" she shouted as she scrambled to her feet. Her knee was grazed and stung like the devil. "You could have warned me! I'm so sorry...."she turned to apologise to the other victim of the little pantomime and stopped dead. The words dried in her throat as she looked up - and up again - into the most gorgeous face she had ever had the pleasure of knocking to the ground.

"It's ok, darling, no harm done. Are you ok? Oh, your poor knee! James? Is that you?" he turned and smiled."Great to see you again. This poor injured soul, I take it, is Molly?" James nodded, still unable to string a coherent sentence together. This couldn't have gone any better if he'd planned it. Oh, wait. He did!

As Molly stood, open-mouthed, grazed knee ignored, she could have sworn she was concussed. She could have sworn her brother, her irritating, annoying, ridiculously amazing brother was talking to actual Tom Hiddleston. TOM HIDDLESTON. IN SHORTS. IN FRONT OF HER.

As he turned back to her and smiled, she knew for sure she must be hallucinating. And when he stuck out his hand and grasped hers, raising it to his lips in greeting, she realised that heaven was a real place.

She'd knew because she'd just died and gone to it.