"Tony's a little more visible," Heather pointed out. She sighed a bit. "I'm just worried about him, I don't want anything to blow up on him."

"We'll deal with whatever comes up," Lily said. "It'll be okay. We'll manage."

"Yeah," Heather said after a moment. She was still worried, though, even as she got out of the car and headed into her own house.

Lily was also abnormally quiet as she headed into her house, fidgeting around with baking things so she'd have something to do other than worry.

Charles was the first one to spot Heather, and he smiled at her. "Welcome back. Did you have fun?" His expression faltered a bit at her mood.

Lucivar immediately knew something was wrong.

"What happened?" he asked, going over to her.

"It definitely could have gone better," Heather muttered as she went and set the kettle on the stove to boil.

"Apparently some of the press people know that Tony and Clint are part of groups," Lily said, kneading dough harder than she had to. "No names were mentioned, but they were... very interested."

Charles frowned. "What happened?" he asked, getting mugs out and picking out the tea she usually used when she was upset.

"I see," Lucivar said, letting her work. He would have to pay attention when Clint made it back, because if he had to make some people quietly disappear, he would. Nobody threatened his lady and got away with it.

"People found out that Tony and Clint are in groups," Heather said, fidgeting with a spoon for a moment. "I don't know how, but they seemed pretty certain about it, they just don't know who yet."

Lily huffed. "It's just not fair," she growled. "Why do people care so much?"

Charles frowned. "That could be bad," he agreed. "Have you had a chance to talk to him about this yet?"

"I don't know," Lucivar said, going over and putting his arms around her.

"I texted him," Heather replied. "I didn't want to risk getting close to him and people figuring it out."

Lily growled into his shoulder for a moment before she sighed and leaned against him. "I hate people," she muttered moodily.

Charles nodded. "Hopefully he'll be back soon," he said quietly. "I doubt you're the only one upset about this."

"I know," Lucivar replied, still holding her. "Things should die down soon."

"I'm worried," Heather said. "This could turn out really badly. And it's not something you and Tony can just throw money at and make it go away."

"I hope so." Lily nestled in closer, content to just stay there for the moment.

"No," Charles agreed. "It's not. However, that does not mean we cannot find any solution at all."

Lucivar held her, rubbing her back a little. He would, however, try to check on Clint if the archer didn't come home that night.

Heather glanced at him, and then just sat down, letting him take over the tea preparation. He made better tea than she did, about half the time, anyways. Automatically, she dropped one of her hands down when Kaelas padded into the kitchen, and the massive cat nuzzled her hand as he went by.

Lily finally sighed and stepped back, rather regretfully.

"I should finish this up."

Charles made the tea and then brought over the pot and two cups on a tray, setting it on the coffee table.

"I know this is a shock, but we will figure this out," he told her, pouring tea for her. "I promise we will."

Lucivar nodded.

"After that, settle in," he said. "I'm sure Robin would be willing to demand your attention for a while, if you need him to."

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to worry," Heather replied, taking a cup of tea. "Tony's more fragile than people think, sometimes. I don't want him to get hurt."

Lily snorted quietly. "I don't think it would take much convincing to get him to."

Charles was quiet for a moment, stirring some sugar into his own tea. "Tony is also quite used to dealing with the public," he said. "That doesn't mean they can't hurt him, but he knows how to compartmentalize, when it comes to the media."

"I know," Lucivar replied. "By the way, I went out with DeJaal and Graysfang earlier. The dragged back a buck for you, I broke it down and stored it in the big freezer."

"I know he is, but this is more personal than anything else he's handled recently," Heather pointed out. "And he doesn't react well to 'personal' sometimes."

"Oh, thanks." Lily smiled a bit. "Not surprised they wanted to drag something back, it's been a bit since they went out hunting."

Charles nodded. "It went surprisingly well today, but I doubt that will hold true if they try again," he agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised if Tony took a few... preventative measures here."

"Right," Lucivar replied, nodding. "Which was why I just broke it down for them when they brought it back."

That made Heather pause.

"Like what?" she asked. "Did he send you a message or something?"

"Right. Guess I'll have to dig up my recipes again. At least I've got a while, now." Lily finally finished with the bread dough and put it in the oven.

"No, he hasn't said anything to me. But this is Tony. When anything threatens his private life, he tends to get rather defensive."

Lucivar just let her putter around the kitchen. He knew it would make her feel better.

Heather went quiet at that. Until Tony got back, she was going to worry about him.

Nothing happened for a few days. Lily took out all her frustrations on baking, didn't sleep much, and had to be literally dragged out of the kitchen a time or two.

Tony kept Heather updated (at least partially because Jarvis reminded him every few hours to send her a couple texts), but he also didn't go back just yet. He was working on finding out who got the information on him and Clint in the first place, and setting up more security, and letting Pepper figure out the best way to protect the girls and handle the press at the same time.

Tony, himself, was all for borrowing a piranha pit and making an example of a few reporters.

Heather was a bit better off, since Tony sent her a few sporadic texts, but she was still worried and frustrated and had taken it all out on her checking account. Three online orders and two trips to the mall didn't make her feel any better, though.

Lucivar could see how frustrated Lily was, and decided to take matters into his own hands. Time to go get Clint back.

Daemon was already outside when Lucivar left.

"I see you had the same idea." He held up a set of car keys in silent invitation, quirking an eyebrow.

"Guess so," Lucivar replied. "Barton's been gone too long, Lily needs him to come back."