"Hey, you've reached Dean Winchester. Leave a message."
Castiel sighed and closed his omni-tool. It was that same video recording of Dean, not exactly smiling but not exactly frowning, as he told the caller he was unavailable. It was their anniversary and they were supposed to be having lunch right now. It was supposed to be special but Dean was late. Again.
Dean wasn't always tardy, though. He managed to be on time for their first date at this very same restaurant exactly a year ago. Castiel remembered just having turned the corner towards the restaurant and seeing Dean running from the crosswalk across the street. He had stopped running when he got to the entrance while Castiel walked up to him casually.
"Sorry I'm late," Dean said to him through his panting. "I forgot my credit chit."
"It's okay," Castiel had said back. "You're on time." Castiel offered his hand and Dean smiled and took it.
Castiel glanced at the street through the window of their favourite booth. Traffic was characteristically heavy for Los Angeles and the skies above the reflective buildings were murky. Maybe he's stuck in a cab somewhere, he thought.
"Are you ready to order, sweetie?" the waitress asked as she readied a finger over the menu on her omni-tool.
Castiel shook his head as he was pulled from his thoughts. "Give him ten more minutes. I'm sure he'll be here," Castiel said. "But I'll take another Coke." The waitress just gave him a curt nod before moving on.
Sitting alone at the booth, Castiel wondered about what excuse Dean was going to have this time, because even though he was late a lot he always showed up. When the waitress dropped off his soda, Castiel was becoming slightly annoyed at Dean for being this late. Dean was officially twenty minutes late, a new record for him.
Castiel tried to call his omni-tool again but was greeted with the same smiling non-smiling Dean that was recorded in the video.
"Of all the days, Dean," Castiel grumbled to his sleeve as he rested his head on his arms.
He waited for fifteen more minutes before finally ordering something. Castiel noted that the waitress' expression when he ordered practically screamed, "Finally! We both know your date isn't showing up so you might as well eat." He would just need to remember not to tip her.
While waiting for his food to arrive, he alternated between looking for Dean in the streets and playing with the end of his straw with his teeth. Trying not to dwell on the fact that he'd been waiting for almost an hour for Dean, he turned to large television screen above the bar. It looked like everyone watching was engrossed with the asari players in bikinis playing biotic beach volleyball. It was no surprise then that most of them protested when the program was suddenly disconnected.
"Thessia was about to score against Illium!" one patron remarked.
"Hurry up," another complained. "We'll miss the rest of the match!"
"Okay, okay," one of the bartenders said, trying to calm them down. He scanned the screen with his omni-tool when a different program came online.
"This is an emergency news broadcast," a female reporter shouted through harsh static. "This is Emily Wong for the Alliance News Network in Los Angeles. We are getting reports from across the globe of several attacks on all major cities."
The banter in the restaurant had ceased and Castiel joined the rest of the diners in paying their complete attention to the screen.
"There are confirmed accounts of alien ships entering Earth's atmosphere. Alliance vessels are currently engaging them over the skies of London, Vancouver, Rio de Janeiro, and other urban centres." A small screen popped up on the upper right corner of the screen as the woman continued reporting.
"Mommy, look. They look like falling stars," a little girl remarked as the rest of them watched several large masses enter through Earth's atmosphere leaving a streak of fire in their wake.
"The Alliance has confirmed that these ships are the Reapers that Commander Shep-"
She was cut off as the camera shook violently. Castiel and the rest of the patrons watched Emily Wong duck down along with dozens of running passersby. A low and deafening drone erupted from the speakers of the bar as Castiel watched the clouds above the reporter part to reveal the largest spaceship he's ever seen. It was unlike any spaceship he's ever seen and was truly alien in design. Six red lights arranged in parallel pairs along its front glared to life before the feed was cut off and the restaurant was left in silence.
Then the earth beneath them shook and they could all hear the same dreadful drone from the television in the near distance. Several people screamed as others scrambled to the exits. Castiel rushed with them, mind racing to determine what course of action to take.
When he got outside, he saw columns of smoke rising from all directions and the skies above were drowned with the noises of panic, weaponsfire, and aerial pursuit. People were running from all directions as well and many pushed passed him as he numbly regarded the scene of Los Angeles under attack.
The ground shook again and he lost balance as he watched a Reaper ship descend just a few blocks away, its ominous red lights scanning its immediate area. Then its exterior opened to reveal a weapon-like structure, visible even as far as Castiel was from it, before unleashing a devastating beam of red light accompanied by a deafening horn. Several skyscrapers in its path crumbled to the ground surrounded by a halo of debris.
Castiel's first instinct was to run in the opposite direction and he did. Several Alliance fighters flew past him as they were pursued by strange spherical objects. One of the spheres let loose a well-aimed shot and caused one of the fighters to crash land to a nearby burning building. Castiel and several others fleeing his way tried their best to shield themselves from descending debris.
As Castiel approached the entrance to the Los Angeles Subway, he felt his omni-tool vibrating. He threw his forearm in front of him and the screen opened to reveal Dean.
"Dean!" Castiel shouted as he ran as fast as he could towards the disabled escalators that descended below the streets. "Thank God you're alive."
"Cas! Are you alright?" Dean shouted through the sounds of gunfire on his end of the line.
Castiel didn't answer as he and several others retreated to the dimly lit corridors of the subways. "Where are you, Dean?" he asked through the cries of others. "Why is there gunfire?"
"I'm at coffee shop we go to just a few blocks from the restaurant," Dean replied. Castiel saw the Dean swaying from the feed on his omni-tool which meant he was running. "I'm on my way to the restaurant, Cas. Just stay put!"
"No, Dean. I'm at the subway a few blocks from there. I'll meet up with you there!"
"Like hell you are, Cas. It's a warzone out there. Stay put and I'll find you," Dean ordered through the screen. "Listen, Cas."
"Yes, Dean?" Castiel replied as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't tear his eyes away from Dean's even as the rocks above him trembled. Dean was still running and he couldn't see the worry clearly etched in Castiel's features.
"I'm sorry I was late. If I were there on time, we could've-"
"Watch out!" a woman screamed at Castiel as he looked up to see the ceiling directly above coming down.
Several people from the subway ran back up to the streets when much of the ceiling collapsed behind them. Those that made it out saw half an Alliance frigate partly buried just above the subway tunnels. But they didn't have enough time to care.
"Get these civilians to safety!" an Alliance marine ordered his platoon as he shot at three husks approaching. Sadly, he was soon taken down by the dozen that quickly followed.
Through the screams of terrified people and the falling rubble above, no one could hear Dean shouting Castiel's name through the omni-tool still online on Castiel's arm.
And through the chaos of the collapsing city around him, no one could see the slightest purple glow of Castiel's finger as Dean's voice finally stopped calling to him when his omni-tool died.