LONG CHAPTER AHEAD

…

Week 6

…

This week, they were all in England, in a town called Cardiff. Dean thought it was pretty, though a bit colder than he was used to.

He and Cas had started spending time together again. It was kind of like before, but different, considering their feelings for one another. They just mimicked their previous platonic relationship for the sake of everyone around them.

Dean wanted to slip into Cas's room at night, to kiss him like there was no tomorrow. But he'd done that their first night in Cardiff. The sneaking into Cas's room, at least. Cas told him that, while he was just as eager for that physicality, he didn't think it was a good idea. He didn't want to "confuse" Dean, so he forbade kissing until Dean had made up his mind. Dean still visited Cas every night, just to hold his hand.

They both ended up on the group date. Which, honestly, Dean though was a little awkward. They carefully avoided one another during the date, focusing on Atara instead, but it was still a little weird.

At the end of the date, while hanging out at an indoor pool, Dean decided to go find Atara, to spend some alone time with her.

He had to make a decision. He had been worried that the initial rush of being with Cas might blind him to what he really wanted, but now that that had settled somewhat, he thought he might be able to make a reasonable decision. He just needed to be with Atara for a while to be able to make that final decision.

Dean rounded a corner to find Atara and Cas sitting together, sharing a kiss.

His insides burned, jealousy coursing through his veins. But before he could turn to leave, the two people before him pulled apart, lips making a soft sound that filled Dean's brain with angry static.

Atara noticed him first, and she greeted him right away. "Oh, hi Dean!"

Cas's head swiveled and his blue eyes found Dean's green ones.

"Dean," he said simply. But just that one word, hearing Cas say his name, made a burst of butterflies explode in Dean's stomach.

He tore his eyes away from Cas and looked at Atara.

"Hi. Mind if I steal you for a bit?"

She glanced at Cas to make sure he wouldn't object, and then replied, "Of course not. Lead the way."

She stood and they walked together to another quiet area. They spent ten or fifteen minutes talking before another bachelor interrupted, but that was enough.

Dean had made his decision.

…

Cas felt kind of down after the group date. He still hadn't felt anything besides friendship for Atara, which meant he'd be leaving before the next week. On top of that, Dean still seemed interested in Atara, and Cas knew he'd choose her. He'd "been straight" his whole life, why change now?

He sat on his bed, thinking over all of this, and trying not to let the disappointment get any worse than it already was.

When Dean stepped into the room, Cas tried to still his excitement. He hadn't expected a visit so soon after a date, and wasn't prepared to see Dean again.

"Hi," he murmured weakly. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight."

Dean gave an aggravated sigh. "Yeah, I just… I wasn't going to come, knew it'd make things awkward. But I started thinking, and I knew I wouldn't sleep until I talked to you."

Cas felt dread trickle down his spine. Dean was rejecting him, just like he knew he would.

"Tonight…" Dean continued slowly, still standing by the door, "Tonight was hard. Seeing you and Atara… I know I said I wasn't a jealous person but I can't stand seeing you with her."

"At least you know I don't have feelings for her," Cas replied bitterly. "I, on the other hand, am forced to watch the man I have feelings for go off with the girl he has feelings for."

"I hadn't thought about it that way."

Clearly, Cas thought.

"I'm sorry Cas. I didn't mean to… well that wasn't what I came here to say. I was leading up to… I came here to tell you that… I don't have feelings for Atara anymore. Only for you. I want you."

Cas could swear that his heart stopped at those words. He opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out.

"I don't want to do this anymore," Dean added after a few moments of silence. "The show, I mean."

"Are you… are you saying you're going to come out on national TV."

Dean bit his lip. "It's not ideal, but yeah. I want to be with you, Cas."

Cas couldn't contain the wide grin that spread across his face as he leapt off the bed, catapulting forward toward Dean, nearly falling on his face in the process. He threw his arms around the blushing green-eyed man and pulled him closer.

Their lips connected and Cas never wanted them to separate. His hands moved restlessly over Dean's body, while the other man's hands slipped into his hair. Finally, one hand settles on Dean's hip, the other on his ass. Dean certainly didn't seem to mind, only pressing closer to Cas as their tongues tangled together.

A moment later, Dean pulled away, leaving Cas rather disappointed, but that feeling vanished as soon as Dean's mouth moved to his neck, licking and sucking there.

"Dean," Cas breathed, almost a moan.

But unfortunately, something inside was nagging at him. For some reason, part of him had a problem with this. Cas tried to think, to figure out why he shouldn't keep going, let this take its natural course.

It was difficult, but he did figure it out.

Three reasons:

1. Though this wasn't exactly a first date, it was early. Cas didn't usually sleep with people right away.

2. Dean was new in his sexuality. While he might technically know how things would work in the bedroom, they should probably talk about it so he understood exactly what it entails.

3. They were still on "The Bachelorette".

Damn.

Reluctantly, Cas moved his hands to Dean's chest and gently pushed him away.

"Not here. Not now. It wouldn't be right."

Dean sighed heavily, but nodded his agreement. "Yeah. You're right. We need to talk to Atara."

Cas raised an eyebrow. "Now?"

"No point in putting off the inevitable," Dean answered with a nervous laugh.

"That's true. Do you know what you want to say?"

"Uh… I was hoping you might have some ideas."

…

Dean was absolutely terrified to tell Atara what was going on. He really didn't want to hurt her, but he figured the truth was still best. Lies ultimately cause more pain than most anything else.

He and Cas talked about how best to break the news, and Cas offered to do most of the talking, which Dean was grateful for.

They walked out of the room together and alerted the nearest cameraman that they were going to go talk to Atara. The man quickly scooped up his camera and followed them to Atara's room, all of them silent. It was the same cameraman who'd accompanied the pair to the beach, and he was kind enough not to ask them to do an interview beforehand, though he did ask them to pause outside Atara's door to quickly explain what was going on.

"Dean and I have made a decision to leave the show, and would like to explain to Atara why that is," Cas said bluntly. "We felt it would be inconsiderate to wait until the Rose Ceremony to do so."

Dean's stomach turned on itself, but he took comfort in the confidence Cas exuded. Whether or not Cas actually knew what he was doing, he certainly looked like a man with a plan. Dean wondered if that was, perhaps, because he'd already been planning on leaving. Maybe he'd already rehearsed this speech.

Cas knocked, and at first, there was no answer. But when he tried again, Atara came and answered the door.

Her hair was a bit messy, and her sleepy expression made it obvious enough that she'd been asleep, but she greeted them casually, as if it was a normal afternoon, "Hi, guys. What's up?"

"We need to talk to you about something important. May we come in?" Cas asked.

"Of course," Atara said, pushing the door open and inviting them in. She held it open for the cameraman, who she honestly didn't seem surprised to see at all.

The three of them stepped into a small seating area just inside the door. Atara had been given a large suite, so her room was far more spacious than theirs and accommodated them with no problem.

Atara was in one of the two armchairs, and Cas sat on the small couch, which Dean thought was actually called a "loveseat". He hesitated, then sat with Cas.

"So what's this about?" Atara asked. She was concerned, but masked it with her curiosity.

"It's a long story," Cas warned, "And I'll have to start from the beginning."

"Okay."

"Almost three weeks ago, I started doing some thinking. You know I didn't sign up for the show myself, but decided to try it, even though I was skeptical. As I was reflecting, I realized something."

Atara cocked her head to the side curiously, much like Cas often did. Dean thought that was a bit ironic.

"Getting to know you has been absolutely amazing. I really enjoy spending time with you whenever we're together. But I realized that there was something missing- the romance."

Atara's eyebrows drew together, confusion evident on her face.

"You are beautiful, and a wonderful person. But I came to realize that I didn't feel a romance between us. I saw you as a friend, a great friend, but not as a potential wife."

"I'm not sure I understand… are you… leaving?"

"Yes," Cas said.

Atara's eyes flicked over to Dean, still confused, and he dropped his eyes to the floor.

"I'm sure you're wondering why Dean's here. That brings us to the second part of my story."

Then, slowly, Cas's hand moved from off his lap, settling on top of Dean's hand. Dean looked over at him nervously, and Cas smiled slightly. Dean turned his hand over so that his fingers could link with Cas's.

"Oh my God."

Dean looked back up at her. Her eyes were flicking to Cas, to Dean, and to their hands, and she seemed to realize what it meant, and yet was unable to make sense of it.

"Dean and I have been friends since the second week. I've been able to tell him some things that I have not said to anyone else, not even in interviews. And I have spent a lot of time with him. About the same time I realized that I did not have feelings for you, I realized that I did have feeling for someone else- him."

Cas paused, letting her absorb that information. Then he continued.

"I was sure he wouldn't feel the same, but I had to know for sure. So I got him away from the campus and told him how I felt."

"And?" Atara prompted.

Cas looked over at Dean, asking with his eyes if he wanted to explain what happened then.

"I freaked out," Dean said quietly. "I freaked out, and I left."

"Oh."

"The next week, I focused on you. I wanted to have a romantic connection, so I went searching for it. I thought perhaps we just needed time. Meanwhile…" he trailed off and looked at Dean again.

"Meanwhile I was still freaking out. I was… I thought I was straight. But I kind of realized that wasn't the case. I'm… I'm bisexual. And I realized I had feelings for Cas too. I went back and told him at the end of the week. But I still had feelings for you, and I was… conflicted."

Cas picked up the story again. "I decided to give all of this one more week, as did Dean. It was my last attempt to find a romantic connection with you, and his attempt to sort out his feelings. After today's group date, I knew I wouldn't be staying."

"I didn't know until the group date what I was doing, either," Dean added. "But after, I was sure. I… I like you. But not like I like Cas." He felt his cheeks heat up.

"Dean visited me an hour or two ago to tell me he'd made his decision," Cas finished. "And we realized it would be better to do this now and not keep secrets or waste your time. We're both leaving."

"Wow," Atara said, wide-eyed. "I had no idea… I guess I'm happy for you guys? I should probably be heartbroken or something. Maybe I will be later. I mean, I'm sad to see you go, obviously, but… from what you're saying, it never would have worked out with either of you. It's better that I find that out now. And now I don't have to figure out who to send home this week, which is a relief."

She was taking the whole thing better than Dean had expected, and from the look on Cas's face, he guessed Cas was thinking the same thing.

"Should I walk you out?" Atara asked.

Dean shrugged, and Cas told her that he'd love that.

The three of them walked out to a waiting black SUV, Dean and Cas still holding hands. They only let go when they went to hug Atara goodbye.

"I hope you find your happy ending," Cas said.

"Me too," Dean added lamely.

Atara smiled sadly. "I hope you guys find the same."

It was a bittersweet moment. But it was time to get in the SUV and leave, so they weren't left to dwell in that moment.

Dean and Cas waved goodbye from the car as Atara disappeared from view. Then Dean turned around to find Cas grinning at him, and he couldn't help but grin back. As if magnetized, they drew together, lips connecting for a final time during their time on the show. It was long but sweet, more chaste than their last two kisses because that time, a camera was pointed at them.

The secret was out.

…

Because Dean Winchester and Castiel left voluntarily, all five remaining bachelors attending the Rose Ceremony that week stayed to try and win Atara Kemmiam's heart.

Those remaining were:

Benji Columbus

Dustin Total

Edmund Jonathan

Keith Grace

Paul Sanders

…

REVIEW!

And I want to know- Do you want to keep hearing what's going on with Atara? (Like, brief updates at the end of each chapter.) Or do you want to just find out the final two in the "The Men Tell All" chapter, and then who she picks in the "After the Final Rose" chapter?