Author's Note (imp): Okay, guys, Mini here. Just wanna say, due to some crazy exam schedules, I don't think I will be able to complete off the rest of the series in May or subsequent months. Since these are independent one-shots, I am putting them off my priority list for now and focusing on completing In The Rain before I have to go completely MIA for the next three-four months.

3 Thanks a lot for bearing with me and thanks to sagansjagger and steelblaidd for beta reading. Plus, kudos to sparkly for the plot once more :)

PS: Reyemile deserves credit for the ph 7 dialogue.

Summary: After Marinette's emotional breakdown over friendships the previous night, Adrien is forced to rethink if the high road is actually a good way to deal with Lila. When realisation strikes, it doesn't help his case. However, a certain balcony and a certain princess is there to help him calm down.

Continuation of Day 15: Friendship, so recommended to read that one-shot first.

Day 17: Balcony

Even after Chat had tried his best to comfort her, Marinette couldn't find it in herself to sleep. So that night, the teenager struggled to stay up, searching for a plan to expose Lila.

She had been so distracted staring up at her ceiling that she started when she heard a beeping sound come from her phone.

Marinette groaned, the realisation of the lack of sleep and how tired she was crashing over her in a huge wave.

The only thing I get from the impromptu all-nighter is insomnia. Maybe Adrien can help. Maybe I am doing the high road thing the wrong way.

With that thought, she reluctantly got out of bed, getting ready for school.

The rest of the day went really slowly.

The teen had kept drifting off throughout all of the classes and barely paid any attention at all. During lunch, she had started by following Alya out of the classroom but ended up aimlessly wandering around the courtyard before someone brought her over to their table in the cafeteria.

She kept tripping. Alya was sometimes there to steady her and slap her shoulder to bring her back to reality. Sometimes Nino would end up catching her before she hit the ground.

After school, as she was walking home, she suddenly heard someone calling her from behind and was trying to turn around when she tripped, again . Her fall was arrested by strong arms wrapped around her..

Bluebell eyes met piercing green as she looked up at the person who had caught her.

Had she been properly conscious she would've pushed herself away with a yelp and fallen backwards in surprise, but she was so tired that all she did was grin as she realised that the one who had caught her was none other than Adrien himself.

"Hey!" She said, masking her tiredness with a happy note.

Though the blond's expression showed that he didn't buy her facade.

Adrien helped her get home despite her protests, and much to her embarrassment later on.

She was certain that she had made a fool of herself that time, though she couldn't really remember what had exactly happened, much to her dismay.

She didn't even manage to remember to at least bring up Lila. Though she was sure something about roads being high was mentioned.

Damn the confuzzledness that accompanied her sleepy state.

Anyways, as soon as she entered her room, she staggered up the stairs and crashed on her bed, the soft covers finally lulling her into sleep.

In the end, she ended up sleeping most of the day, which brought her back to her current position, staring out of her skylight and gazing up at the stars hopelessly.

Chat isn't going to be on patrol today. And maybe some fresh air will do me some good again.

Wrapping her blanket around her shoulders, she went up onto her balcony and made herself comfortable as she leaned against the railing, continuing to gaze upon the stars and taking deep breaths as she tried to clear her head.

It wouldn't do good to risk being akumatized again.

Adrien was genuinely worried about Marinette now.

She had barely paid attention in class and lunch today, apparently having been so tired that she had even managed to get lost in the courtyard!

And what she had said to him when he had walked her home, that concerned him the most.

"How high does this road go, Adrien? And what if, what if I fall off it?"

Her question had brought him back to the previous night, back to her balcony when she had held onto him and cried. And he had been rendered speechless, once again.

Once again, he had been cursing himself for the moronic advice he gave to Marinette. An advice that did more bad to her than do anyone good, an advice that had started to suck the life out of his dear friend.

If her question had rendered him speechless, then her following words had made him forget all sense of language.

"Who am I kidding? Of course you would be there to catch me, always, right?"

That's why he was out on the rooftops again, lurking near a certain bakery in search of a certain ravenette.

Not spotting anyone on the balcony, Chat was about to leave when he spotted her skylight open and Marinette climb out, wrapped in her blanket. She leaned on the railing, looking at the city.

To anyone else, it would have seemed normal. But Chat knew better.

Silently, he crept as near to the bakery as he could without being seen. He could make out the girl's silhouette under the fairy lights on her balcony. He could see how her shoulders were hunched. He could imagine the frown on her face, planning how she could unmask Lila.

But he didn't understand one thing. How did Marinette know Lila was a liar? Was it based on her sixth sense or...

"I know you are up there, Chaton."

..

Her sixth sense was really commendable.

Jumping from the roof and silently landing on her balcony, Chat Noir bowed to the girl. "Greetings Princess, how are y-"

"Save the greetings, Chat. You came to check upon me, didn't you?"

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't prevent the bitterness in her words from affecting him. But he composed himself as he sat on the railing, chortling a bit. "Why all below pH 7 today, Mari?"

"Because Lila's a basic bitch and all my classmates are a flock of idiotic doofuses!"

Her sudden outburst made the cat hero nearly lose his balance and fall off the railing. Getting himself steady, Chat rubbed at his faux ears. "Woah, seems like you got a lot of things simmering inside. Wanna get them down from the burner?"

Marinette didn't reply but continued staring out at the city.

Okay, Chat, stop acting like an idiot and be her friend.

Gently placing a clawed hand on the girl's shoulder, Chat turned her to face him. Seeing the tears brimming in her eyes, a strange, possessive, feral feeling crept inside his heart. Calming himself down, he reached out his clawed fingers to swipe away the unshed tears from his friend's eyes.

"Hey, listen. I met the Agreste boy on my way here. What's his name? Apollo, Ares-"

"Adrien," Marinette corrected him, chuckling a bit.

"Oh yeah, Adrien. Damn, my Greek classes are taking a toll on me. But anyways," Chat continued, happy to have brought a smile to her face, "he wanted me to tell you that he is sorry."

"Adrien? Sorry? F-for what?" she asked, surprised.

"For telling you to choose the high road," he said. "He finally realised the error in his ways. That Lila's lies might not be hurting most people, but they sure are hurting someone close to his heart. And that's something he is not happy about."

"So-someone close to his heart?" she asked, and her voice seemed….wait. Could someone's voice be hopeful and hopeless at the same time? As Chat wondered, Marinette turned away, once again looking out at the city.

"Lila's lies are hurting Kagami too, hmm?" she asked him quietly.

"Wha-? No! Adrien said the two girls met only once, when Kagami was akumatized to Onichan. No. Adrien didn't mean Kagami, Mari." Turning the girl's face towards him gently, Chat spoke in his most sincere voice to make her realise the truth in his words.

"He meant you."

"M-me?" she squeaked, and Chat couldn't help but adore the cute blush she had on her face.

"Yes you. He was an idiot, Mari, to not realise how much sadness and despair you buried under that ever-present smile of yours. He was a moron to have told you to watch from the sidelines and let the things unfold themselves, when the situation was definitely affecting you in the worst way possible."

His anxiety from the day overwhelming him, Chat gripped the balcony railing tight as he mentally reprimanded himself for having been daft enough to hurt Marinette. It had only been her will and his once timely entrance that had kept her from being akumatized. And an akumatized Marinette….

...Adrien never knew that seeing that cursed butterfly mask on his Princess' face would have haunted his worst nightmares.

"H-he, I, was a co-coward, a bloody coward, for hav-having let you face that lying witch alone, and not doing anything to protect you!"

Deep breath in, hold, deep breath out, calm your damned emotions down, Chat Noir! You are supposed to comfort her, not break down yourse-

A soft hand swiped underneath his eyes, wiping away the treacherous tears he never knew had escaped. Arms wrapped around him in a hug, and Chat leaned onto Marinette as he let his tears flow out freely, all the while muttering "I am sorry, I am sorry" over and over again.

Tears of repentance over his idiocy, his failure.

His failure to protect Marinette, who always had been there for him through every thick and thin.

That night, on a balcony, two friends reconciled over tears. Tears that were considered to be a sign of weakness, but later would turn out to be the foundation of a relationship, a force extremely rare, extremely unique.

Marinette wasn't surprised when Adrien came up to her and hugged her in the morning, muttering "I am sorry" over and over again. She was taken back to her balcony the previous night, and her doubts melted to unveil the reality.

She had forgiven her crush, her kitty, who had unknowingly revealed himself to her yesterday night with his words (not that he knew). He only did what he thought would be the best in the circumstances. And when he did realize the futility of his advice, he had berated himself enough over it.

She knew she would always have his friendship, his love that had bloomed underneath the ambient fairy lights of her balcony. The reveal might be one-sided, but in her heart, she knew that no matter what would come their way, they were the Yin and the Yang, the Ladybug and the Chat Noir, and the pillars for each other, holding each other upright through thick and thin.

He was her Chat. She was his Lady. Together, they were an unreckonable force, unmatched and unbreakable.

Forever.