A/N: Well, this is the last chapter. It's been a fun six weeks. I've enjoyed writing and sharing the story with you. This part is short and is more of an epilogue than anything else. However, I felt like it was kinda necessary because there were still a couple loose threads that needed to be tied up. It also looked different at the start of this week. There was a really weak portion with Ladybug and Chat Noir but I cut it because it just really didn't work. Also… your regular scheduled fluff will be back soon. *Whispers* Don't kill me…

You don't have time for this, Plagg warned him. Your transformation is going to be up soon.

"Make time Plagg. This is important." Chat Noir told him. As if to punctuate Plagg's words, his ring beeped once and a glowing green marker blinked out.

He turned away from the broken window that Ladybug had disappeared through. Jean was shaking and shivering on the ground. Just desserts after Jean had done the same to Marinette. Chat Noir bit back the impulsive, callous thought and stepped closer to Jean. He dropped down to one knee beside Jean. "Wakey-wakey Jean." Chat Noir said as he shook Jean's shoulder.

"Ch… Chat Noir?" he stammered, looking up.

"The one and only." nodded Chat Noir.

"What happened. The last thing I remember was winning my heat at the swim meet."

"You turned into an akuma and kidnapped Marinette." he answered bluntly.

Jean jumped up, "That's impossible! I wouldn't do that to her. All I want is one date!"

"She told you no and you couldn't handle it." Chat Noir told him. Jean drew back in surprise. Nothing shocking there. There was enough ice in Chat Noir's voice to freeze the Seine.

"I would never hurt her!" hissed Jean.

"Listen up Jean," Chat Noir growled. He grabbed Jean's shoulder and squeezed. Jean took a sharp breath as Chat Noir's claws dug into his skin.

You promised Ladybug you wouldn't do anything you'd regret! Plagg's voice was frantic in Chat Noir's mind. Jean was staring up at him with wide eyes and locked jaw.

"I'm only going to say this once. Leave Marinette Dupain-Cheng alone! Don't go near her. Don't talk to her. Don't even so much as look in her direction. She told you that she wasn't interested and I'm willing to bet my Miraculous that you weren't willing to let it go even before you became an akuma. You don't get to try and convince her to change her mind. It doesn't work like that. Leave her alone. If you don't… I will know. Trust me. I will!"

Chat Noir didn't wait for Jean's response. He didn't really need one. His Miraculous beeped again and somewhere at the front of the warehouse, the doors banged open. It was time to go. "Have a good night Jean." Chat Noir waved, turning his back on Jean.

He made it outside right in time. His transformation released right as his feet hit the pavement. Adrien caught the exhausted Plagg in his hands before the kwami had a chance to fall too far. "I want an entire cheese wheel after what I've done for you today." Plagg grumbled.

Adrien scratched Plagg behind his ears. "You did really well. Thanks buddy."

Voices rose through the quiet night air as police swarmed around the shipping warehouse. Adrien ducked into the shadows in between the corners of the building. A few people ran past him to secure the back of the building. When they'd passed though, he chanced a glance around the corner. Marinette was standing beside Alya, a blanket over her shoulders, and talking to Jean Baron. She looked much better now. The color seemed to have come back to her face. She still looked so small though…

"Do you feel better now knowing that Marinette is safe and Ladybug is accounted for?" Plagg asked.

"Yeah," murmured Adrien. Guilt stabbed through him and Plagg saw it. Adrien couldn't look Plagg in the eyes when he continued, "There's just one more thing that I need to do to wrap this up."

"I know what's going through your mind. You don't have to do it y'know."

Adrien looked at Marinette once more before sneaking away. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a kind, sweet girl. She was shy and reserved around him, most likely because of her crush, but with her friends she was bold and outspoken. Marinette could take charge and wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She was creative, artistic, and had an unparalleled eye for fashion. She'd even caught his dad's eye once and that was hard to do.

Consoling Marinette in the warehouse as she clung to him had nearly caused his guilt to eat him alive. If he hadn't made her all giggly and blushy then Jean most likely wouldn't have been akumatized. Had it not been for him, Marinette wouldn't have had to go through this awful experience. She deserved better. So much better. "I have to…" he whispered.

X X X

The computer lab was cold, windowless, and didn't smell like anything but dust from the vent fans on the computers. Marinette tugged the fuzzy pink jacket she was wearing closer to her skin. Maybe it wasn't the fact that the computer lab was cold so much as it was that she had a cold from spending the majority of the day a few days ago in damp clothes and a dark, cold room. All the same, Marinette missed her window and warm sunlight in the art room. However, she couldn't bring herself go back. Not after the incident with Jean… Wavemaster. He hadn't tried to talk to her, hadn't so much as looked at her, but she still hadn't stepped back into the art room.

Tikki was curled up in her bag asleep as Marinette sketched. She had her feet tucked up close on the seat of the chair and her sketchbook balanced on her knees. No matter how many lines she drew or curves of a dress she sketched out, nothing seemed to work for her. Nibbling on her lip, Marinette scrubbed her eraser against the paper. Her eyes were narrowed and focused as she tried to drag some sort of creativity out of her drained mind.

"Marinette," called a soft, tentative, angelic voice.

Marinette nearly jumped out of her chair and almost dropped her sketchbook out of her lap. Standing in front of her at the door was Adrien. He was rubbing his arm halfheartedly. "A… Adrien! Wh… what are you doing here? Can I help you?"

"Hey," Adrien waved to her nervously. "How… uh, how are you?"

"I'm fine. Yeah, had a bit of a crazy day a few days ago but yeah… I'm fine. How about you?" Marinette's heart and stomach were doing synchronized backflips. Adrien was here. He was asking her how she was! She should stand up. She didn't want to be rude. Marinette tumbled out of the chair. She clasped her hands in front of herself and smiled awkwardly.

"I'm alright." he answered. Marinette suddenly remembered Adrien's injury from the swim meet.

"How's your back? You, uh, got hit really hard." Marinette fiddled with her thumbs.

"Still bruised but I'll live. My friends tell me that I'm built like a rock. Indestructible." A small grin split across Adrien's lips. Marinette giggled. Adrien dropped the grin and shuffled his feet before starting towards her. He was walking towards her! Oh no! What was she supposed to do? Act natural dummy! "I… um… wanted to talk to you."

Marinette twisted her hand through her hair and pushed it back past her ear. "About what?"

"About what happened the other day at the swim meet." Adrien said. Marinette couldn't help it. She grimaced and flinched. Here it came. Everyone wanted to know what happened in the warehouse. Half her class had already asked her about it. Alya had had to chase people away from her. Of course Adrien wanted to know. He was a fan of Chat Noir… maybe all he wanted to hear was about Chat Noir. "Not about what happened with Wavemaster I promise." Adrien said quickly.

The pressure that had built up in her chest dissipated and Marinette sighed in relief. "Yeah, I'd rather not get into that. That's all anyone wants to talk about." she whispered.

"I am so sorry." Adrien sighed. He scratched the back of his neck. "I really am about what happened."

"It wasn't your fault." she told him quickly, voice creeping up an octave. Marinette shook her head with enough vigor to send her pigtails whipping around her face. He was too sweet. "It wasn't like you had anything to do with it or…"

"Marinette... I know about your crush on me." Adrien said suddenly, cutting her off. Marinette turned stark white and her jaw dropped.

"Y… you know." she squeaked. It took every ounce of her strength to stay on her feet. Her hands were shaking. Of course he knew! How many times had Alya told her that she was painfully obvious. Marinette should've known that Adrien would've figured it out eventually. He was so smart. So observant.

"I'm sorry that I didn't realize it sooner. Really I am."

"N... no, it's fine." Marinette stammered. Suddenly, she was having a hard time looking him in the eyes. The words just started pouring out of her mouth. It was like a waterfall Marinette couldn't stop. "I was working up the courage to tell you myself. Honest I was. It's just that you're so wow and I'm so... so blah and I was going to tell you. Eventually. I even sent you a valentine and everything. It's just everytime I talk to you I get so flustered and I can't think and my mouth does..."

"I'm flattered Marinette." Adrien blurted out. Marinette brain screeched to a halt. Something about the words seemed familiar. Ominously familiar. "Really flattered, but I already like someone else."

I already like someone else. The words hit her in the stomach harder than any akuma had ever punched her. Marinette felt the pain in every part of her body. Her throat swelled and her mouth went dry. Someone might as well have been strangling her. Worst of all, her eyes were burning and tears were pooling in the corner of her eyes. "Oh..." she whispered. "I... uh..."

"I think you're a great friend and everything. You're really nice and sweet. You aren't afraid to speak your mind or stand up to people. It's just that I don't like you in that way." Adrien continued awkwardly. Marinette barely heard it. She was fighting to keep the tears from sliding down her face. She wasn't successful at all.

Had Chat Noir felt this horrible after she'd turned him down? He'd sulked and thought she wanted to disband their partnership. However, she'd never seen him cry. Not once. Another stab of pain pierced through her middle. Marinette scrubbed at her eyes and forced a skeleton smile on her lips. She was going to handle Adrien's rejection with the grace of Chat Noir. "I totally understand," Marinette told him.

Her voice cracked. Marinette nearly threw her hand over her mouth but just barely managed to keep herself from doing so. Adrien was biting his lip, wincing she realized. God help her! He was trying to be gentle with her. Adrien was trying to be a gentleman. She couldn't do this. It hurt too much. "I, uh, please excuse me. I just remembered something that I have to do before class starts. So yeah I'm just gonna... go." Marinette mumbled under her breath while scrubbing at her eyes.

Marinette brushed past him, her shoulder touching his as she went. Adrien didn't watch her go. He found the tiles on the floor infinitely more interesting. The sound of the door closing behind her was loud as thunder. "Marinette…" Tikki called sleepily as she poked her head up from Marinette's purse, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Marinette whimpered. The sound took her by surprise and this time she did press her hand to her mouth. All she wanted to do was put as much distance between Adrien and her as possible. So she ran and let her feet take her in a random direction.

Fin

Final Author's Note: I've been criticized for the ending so I am aware that this might be unsatisfactory to some readers. I apologize for that but I felt ending it where I did was the right decision. Going any further would've made the story much longer and would've been another story entirely. I hope to eventually revisit some of the events from Holding Out for a Hero in oneshots and other short stories.

As always! Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed!

Life is no Fairytale: One new chapter as requested and the final one to boot!

Anoninon: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you've enjoyed the story. I put a lot of time and love into it so it makes me unbelievably happy to know others have liked reading it.

ncisduckie: Unfortunately there will be no more next button on this story lol. But in all reality I'm flattered. There were so many ups and downs in this story that I had fun writing. Chapters 2 and 5 were my favorites to write.

Shidake: Yes, you saw where my hand slipped. The tenderness and sweetness of those two babies is always so much fun to write.

p3pp3rmintt: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you've enjoyed the story so much!

Guest (anon reviewer): I really didn't want the story to turn into a "damsel in distress" scenario where Marinette was literally waiting around to be rescued. She's a stronger character than that and I really felt that I owed it her character and readers to keep her from losing her agency.

Kameo1: No bodily harm was inflicted on to Jean but Chat Noir/Adrien has definitely scared the ever living daylights out of him.

Rose. : No smug Adrien just an incredibly guilty one. Adrien would definitely be ready to defend his princess/lady again though if needed.