Lark

Now, close your eyes

Peter's POV September 28th, 2019

"I need your help with something and you can't tell anybody. Especially Tony!" Aria whispers to him as she drags him out of the kitchen with his half eaten sandwich still in his hand. Surprised by the tenor of anxiety in her voice and the shifty way she was looking around, Peter allowed her to pull him along with her. Sam, Clint and Dr Banner seated at the kitchen table ignore them because they're used to their antics by now.

"Ari, slow down. What are you talking about? What can't I tell Mr Stark?" He asks, shoving half of the sandwich into his mouth. She makes a disgusted face at his lack of manners which only makes him smile. "Well?"

Pressing the call button for the elevator, she glances around the hallway to make sure the guys behind them couldn't hear. "I'll tell you in the elevator. I don't want anyone ruining the surprise." Getting in she presses the button for the garage and calls out to the AI. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., no snitching on me. Activate the sisterhood cone of silence!" Having no idea what that was or what that meant he stares at her in worry at what she's going to tell him.

"Cone of silence protocol will be observed, Aria." A hint of amusement in the AI's Irish voice floated through the small space.

Looking back over at him Aria grasps his face with both of her hands and squishes his cheeks with a wide grin on her face. Gone was the anxiety and in its place was excitement. "Alright, are you ready for this Pete?"

Laughing at how excited she is to tell him whatever it is he nods. "Yeah, yeah go ahead." When Aria pulls her hands away he leans against the back of the elevator and waits for her to tell him.

"I'm getting Steve and Bucky kittens!" Aria bounces up and down on her toes, grinning waiting for him to be as excited as she is. For all of two seconds he was, but then he thought that Mr Stark might not be so happy having animals running around the Compound. And he wasn't exactly sure that Mr Rogers and Bucky were cat people. "I know what you're thinking." She tells him at the skeptical expression on his face. "Bucky told me once that he really wanted a cat, but back when he and Steve were younger before the serum, Steve was allergic and had asthma so Buck couldn't be around cats. But now," She drags out the word. "Now I can get him one. I overheard Steve a few days ago talking about how much he liked the cat Clint has out at his farm and how he wished he had one. So I'm getting them both kittens and you're going to help me pick them out."

Just as he was about to tell her that they really should ask Mr Stark before just getting the animals, as well as talking to the guys, the doors open to reveal the man himself. Looking up from the phone in his hand Mr Stark smiles at them both as he steps into the elevator. "Hey kid, Ninja."

Clamping his mouth shut, Peter could feel his stomach cramping at not immediately telling him what they were doing. The most he could do was give him a tight smile and nod hello. Behind the other man's back he gives Aria wide eyes and frantically nods his head towards Mr Stark for her to say something. When the older man looks over his shoulder at them Aria slightly shakes her head no before giving Mr Stark a wide smile. "Hey Tony."

When the elevator stops on his workshop's floor, he turns to say goodbye to them. "Alright, you guys have fun. Stay out of trouble. I'm looking at you, Parker." He says pointing at him with a raised brow.

"What?" He sputters, perplexed at being singled out. "Why me?"

"You know why." He says giving Aria a quick side hug before exiting the elevator. "Besides, my little Ninja never gets into trouble." Peter blushes a little. Well, he did have a point. He had gotten into a few scrapes over the years that Mr Stark had to help him out of, but he'd never planned to secretly smuggle kittens into the Compound before.