AN: I'm a little shocked by just how many new favorites and follows "The Press Conference" received. If it wasn't clear from that story, "The Press Conference" is something of a bookmark in the series/universe that I've written, starting with "Milady." Chapter 1 recaps everything from the first 11 stories in the series (or at least enough to get caught up on the big things); chapter 2 sets some things in motion for upcoming stories, the next four of which begin within 24 hours or so after the press conference itself. If you are completely new to my stories, "The Press Conference" is a good place to jump onboard!

Reviews of "The Press Conference" chapter 2:

To anonymousfriend27: A few of the things that happened there do set up the next couple stories. But what?

To Rose Tiger: Of course. Lila would be thrilled if Marinette and Adrien broke up; that he would call her so important to him would pretty much twist the knife for her!

"I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?"

Marinette looked up from where she was seated on her chaise to see a pair of bright green eyes staring down at her through her skylight. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, she set aside the kimono she was trying to finish, crawled up the ladder to her bed, and let Cat Noir inside. He jumped through the hatch, pulling it shut behind him, and had de-transformed by the time he landed next to her on the bed.

"Is this going to be a thing, Kitty?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Which part? Me visiting you?" He smiled at her adoringly. "There's no way that's stopping any time soon, Princess."

Marinette blushed. "You singing 'A Whole New World' on my balcony when you visit," she retorted with a smirk.

"Well, it just seems so fitting," he replied, shrugging. "Two lovers from different backgrounds who meet in disguise and are granted magical powers by an all-powerful being… His father is a criminal mastermind…"

She stared at him in shock. "Wait, you actually watched the third Aladdin movie?" she giggled.

"I appreciate the dramatic irony of his father turning out to be a 'king,' making Aladdin a 'prince' all along," Adrien defended. "What can I say, I identify with Aladdin, falling for a girl way out of my league."

"Okay, for one, you're the rich prince in this analogy, so you're the one who's way out of my league," Marinette replied, grinning. "And for two, the Genie is a lot nicer than Plagg!"

Plagg stuck his tongue out at Marinette. "I'll have you know that I am worlds nicer than any of the good-for-nothing genies out there, Pigtails!" With that he turned his back on her and phased through the bed to find Tikki.

Adrien's eyes trailed after Plagg, confusion evident in them. He opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it. He shook his head and turned back to Marinette. "Your family is far richer in what matters than mine is," he told her, his lips pulling down in a frown.

She smiled and pulled him into a hug, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "You're part of the family, too," she assured him. "Considering that my parents have practically adopted you this year, and even more so since that conversation last week. Even if they did insist that we need a chaperone for this trip! But can you at least stop singing that song after tomorrow?"

"I make no purr-omises," he teased. "I'm just too excited that you're coming with me!"

"When you showed up on my balcony singing Disney and invited me to 'see the world' with you, I didn't think you were talking about a business trip," Marinette observed, arching an eyebrow at him.

"I'm just glad your parents agreed to let you come with me," he replied, wrapping his arms around her. "Remember the last 'business trip' I took?"

"That weekend in London? How could I forget? You called every three hours because the supplier was driving you crazy!"

"The only good thing about the whole trip was seeing Felix again," Adrien agreed. Marinette frowned at him dubiously. Seeing her face, he went on, "I know he didn't make the best first impression on you–"

"He pretended to be you just to make your friends angry!" Marinette interrupted heatedly. "He deleted the videos we sent you to make you feel better on the anniversary of your mother's supposed death. He got Alya, Rose, and Juleka Akumatized! He tried to kiss me while pretending to be you, trying to make me think you were some creepy stalker!"

"Good thing you know me too well to fall for that," he commented, quirking his eyebrows at her. Frowning, he went on, "That was two years ago. Felix is different now. He's not perfect, but he's still my cousin." He smiled. "But I won't lie: you are a much better traveling companion than him! I'm sorry you won't get to do as much sightseeing now as you were planning."

Marinette pushed back to look into his face and saw the disappointment in his eyes. "Why is that?" she asked, confused.

"I got a call from the head of our South American distributor after the press conference," he told her. "She had watched it live and wanted to know if my 'girlfriend' was planning to accompany me on the trip. When I told her that you were, she asked if it would be possible to meet the lead designer for our new flagship brand. So… I guess you are coming to the meetings with me – if that's alright…?"

"I guess that's the downside of letting Nadja break the news of our relationship to a global audience!" Marinette commented wryly. Seeing the vulnerability in Adrien's eyes, she took his hand and brought it up to her cheek. "That's okay," she assured him, leaning into his palm and kissing it. "It wouldn't have been as much fun touring the city without you, anyways. I'd much rather spend time with you, even if it does mean sitting through business meetings."

Adrien let out a relieved breath and nodded. "It does make this less of a vacation for you, though. And you definitely need a vacation after the last few years!"

"We both do, Kitty," she replied, squeezing his hand. "This will be a vacation – sort of. And besides, I'm excited to be representing the company with you now. It's sooner than expected, and it's not how we planned any of this to happen, but I'm happy to help you with Agreste however I can."

"Thanks, Princess," he said, holding her close. "But the next time I take you on a trip, it's going to be an actual vacation, and not an Agreste Fashion business trip! I purr-omise!"

Marinette was silent for a moment, soaking in Adrien's warmth and affection. "Are you sure we should be leaving Paris right now?" she finally asked. "I know we've been planning the trip for months, but the timing just feels wrong now. What if Lynchpin tries something more while we are away?"

Adrien hummed. "It sounds like Lynchpin did try something during the press conference today," he admitted. "It's a good thing Kim was there to sort it out."

"Yeah," Marinette agreed. "From what he said, the others stepped up big time, especially Nathaniel and Alix."

"Lynchpin did suffer a pretty big loss today," Adrien reminded her. "So maybe he won't want to try anything else for a while so he can recover?"

"Maybe…" Marinette frowned.

"Do you trust Alya and Nino and Chloe?" Adrien asked her.

"Of course."

"Then trust our friends to keep the city intact while we're gone," he advised her. "Hawk Moth and Mayura are gone, their miraculous are safe, so no Akumas or Amoks to purify. Alya has a few leads on Lynchpin that she can track down, and if we really are his targets, then our being gone might be enough for him to come out of hiding and make a mistake that Alya can use. And besides, if something goes too badly wrong, Max can always portal us home to deal with it."

"I know." Marinette sighed and burrowed further into his side. "I still can't get used to having a team to back us up," she admitted. "Last year it was really just the two of us, with a little help when we absolutely needed it."

"You and me against the world, right Bugaboo?" He planted a kiss on her forehead.

"That's what it always comes down to, Kitty." She smiled. "But I'm glad we have friends."