Not Impossible {Tom Hiddleston}

Chapter 1

     Reese despised airports.

     Specifically international airports, where too many people are crammed onto a plane for ten hours; lest you need to use the bathroom, you risk starting a whole tidal wave of people struggling out of their seats, and flight attendants pushing food carts out of the way.

     So when she flopped down in her seat and closed her eyes, she felt a huge wave of relief flood over her. She'd woken up and 3:00 a.m that morning, and taken two previous flights just to get to her final stop, a five-hour plane ride -- though, coming from someone who was on their way to Hawaii, she knew she shouldn't be complaining.

     Reese just had to keep telling herself this, repeating it over and over again in her head as a woman sat behind her, a screaming baby in her arms.

       Five more hours, she thought fiercely, and you'll be in paradise.

     She had her dear brother to thank for the trip. He'd invited her to his wedding (which, of course, she was overjoyed about), but it did also mean she had to leave her home in LA and travel a couple thousand miles to get there.

     To add to the fun, one of Reese's flights got delayed, so she was stuck in between for an extra three hours. In all honesty, she just wanted to get the traveling over with and didn't even want to start thinking about the trip back home.

     She bent down to shove her backpack under the seat in front of her, then slumped back in a huff, forcing her muscles to relax. The plane began to fill up, and soon the anxious chatter of tourists filled the air. Reese silently thanked her roommate once again, for remembering to shove a pair of earbuds into her pocket before she left.

     She slipped her hand into the pocket of her overall shorts... but came up with nothing. She repeated the process with each and every pocket, only to find the exact same result -- she'd somehow lost them, just like she does everything else.

     "Shit!" she hissed, finally giving up and letting her arms go limp. Now she would have no sanction from the baby behind her, or the man across the aisle, for that matter, who had already fallen asleep and was snoring up a storm.

     "Something troubling you miss?" a voice asked above her. She jumped a little in surprise and tilted her head to get a better look at who'd spoken.

     His accent was strange, British, Reese decided, but it sounded sincere all the same. The man was actually quite tall, though it was hard to make out any features under the shadows and harsh florescent light. He wore a crisp suit, looking more like a businessman than a European tourist.

     "Er, no," she rushed, sitting up a little straighter. "No, I'm sorry about that. I just forgot something-"

     "Ah," he sighed, nodding understandingly. "Yes, happens to me all the time. I hope it wasn't something greatly important?"

     Reese just shook her head and smiled. "No, really, it's fine. I'm sorry."

     To her surprise, the man, still smiling, shrugged off a backpack and sat down right next to her, tucking it neatly in front of him.

     "There's no need to apologize," he said, then as he saw her dumbfounded expression, "you don't mind, do you? I'm seat 30c."

     "O-of course not," she stuttered. "It's your seat, by all means."

     Now that she was getting a closer look at his face, she could say with complete confidence that he was okay looking. Sharp features, warm eyes, million-dollar smile. He actually looked vaguely familiar, but Reese promised herself she wouldn't say a thing about it. Previous conversations starting like that had led to a whole lot of embarrassment for her, and she was in no hurry to relive them.