YAY! Look who's here? Me- that's right!

All right, I'd like to thank my mom right off the bat, for without whom I'd have never come to know of her and her brother's idiotic adventures through the woods that inspired the Lunchbox Adventures.

Like the title implies, this all has to do with little Alphonse's lunchbox.

Ages:

Edward: 6 or 7 Second Grade.

Alphonse: 5 Kindergarten.

Please, enjoy and review! I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: This is in no way for profit. It is simply for entertainment purposes only. I own nothing in this story except for the concept and plot.

The Lunchbox Adventures

"Run!"

The blonde turned, running away from the tree he'd had been circling for the last five minutes. Ed grabbed Al's arm, dragging him through the mud after him.

Ed looked over his shoulder. "Come on, Al! Run faster!" he called, trying to push himself out of the trees.

Al yelled back, "I can't! You know I'm slow!"

Ed grimaced. Damn five year-olds and their slow speeds… he cursed.

The water moccasin was quick on their heels, teeth bared. If only he hadn't been screwing around with it… If only-

I bet your wondering what exactly led up to this high-speed snake-chase, hmm?

Well, of course, it all began with school, as most things do.

--

The bell rang, signifying school-out time. Three-fifteen, and Ed stood on the playground, right by his favorite swings. Usually, Mom would pick them up, but today she had to run some errands. So Ed had to walk with his little brother home. The ground was soaked from the rain that had fallen during their classes, puddles flooding the playground here and there. Ed was sure to avoid them, though the bottoms of his pants were still wet.

Al- five years old. He was in kindergarten at this time, his older brother in second grade. Sure, they were in the same classroom most of the time, but Ed always ran ahead.

The two met up quickly, the younger Elric swinging his lunchbox by his side. A kitten was on the front, running in a field. Multiple times he'd been laughed at for it, but they'd never gotten much farther than, "Hey, look at the little ba-" before Edward jumped to his rescue. Of course, the two were thick as thieves.

Ed walked by his side, listening as the small blonde told of his recess adventures. He always had some story or another- how he and Todd had swung on the bars- upside down this time-, or how he'd jumped from the highest (actually, the third highest, which was the lowest, but he didn't care to inform Ed of that) rung on the bridge- and lived. All of it was over glamorized and dumb sounding to his older counterpart.

Pulling Al by the hand, he dragged the younger toward the forest.

Al blinked. "Mom said not to go there."

Ed smirked, rolling his eyes. "Come on. She'll be happier if we get home faster, and this is the quickest way home! It doesn't matter how we go about getting there as long as we get there, right?" He wasn't the best in English class… Teacher always did say he was repetitive…

Al sighed. "R-right…"

The guard of the road into the forest stood at his post, watching a small bird flutter past. If you wanted proof that the Resembool police were lazy here it was: guarding children's safety was pretty much this guy's last priority, though it'd been what he was assigned to do.

Ed and Al moseyed by without conflict, Al more cowering at the size of the trees.

Crickets chirped around them as the two treaded down the tar path, the oaks and ferns and such of the forest growing around them. Ed smiled, looking around contentedly. The forest didn't intimidate him; nothing could hurt him- he was Edward Elric. No one didn't like Edward Elric.

Al clung to his brother's arm, looking around in fright. Squirrels even seemed scary right now, the sun hidden by the flanks of trees. That or the fact that there was overcast made the forest seem darker and more frightening.

Ed stopped suddenly, Al running into him. He jumped back.

"What is it, brother?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. The elder was now slightly crouched, eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Al, toss me your lunchbox." He ordered, holding his hand out.

Al blinked. "Why?"

"Just give it!"

Sighing, Al complied, placing the handle to the box in his older brother's hand.

Ed smiled, opening the box. An apple core and a plastic fork….

The tossed the contents on the ground, much to Al's dismay. "We'll get it trouble!"

"No one will miss a core or a fork, come on! Grow a spine! Plus, maybe an apple tree will grow now and who'll be to thank? You! Think of the fame!"

Dazing off, Al smiled, thinking of the young children gathering around a tree. Magically, thousands of apples fell from its limbs, dropping into the young one's awaiting hands. "Thank you, Alphonse Elric!" They all yelled, patting the boy on the back. Then, Winry walks forward, giving him a kiss on the cheek "I've always loved you, Alphonse." She whispers, holding the little boy tight…

Al sighed happily, and Ed groaned in response. Simple minds, simple pleasures…

Ed stealthily got to work. Stupid garden snake…he thought, taking a step forward toward the brown, black, and tan colored snake. The lunchbox was open wide, prepared to scoop the harmless 'garden snake' into the tin confines. Picking up a stick, the small boy poked at the snake, the reptile retaliating with a hiss and a shake of his head. Ed chuckled, then repeated the action, drawing Al back from his stupor.

"Brother! What are you doing?" he asked, eyes wide and shocked. A snake? He's really playing with a snake? Mom told us to run if we saw one of those… "Aren't those dangerous?" he questioned, biting his lip.

"Come on, Al, you've got to live a little! Besides, this is a garden snake- they're harmless! Trust me, Teacher's told me before!" he responded, poking at the long creature.

The beast lashed out, neigh making contact with Ed's arm. He jumped back with a yelp, eyes wide. Wait-!

Visions of the class he'd had earlier jumped into his mind. The book he'd been reading earlier…

Garden snake: Small, green, non-venomous.

Water Moccasin: large, multicolored, deadly.

This one looked more like the later.

Freezing, he breathed, "Al… Walk toward home. Now."

Al blinked, unknowing of the danger. "Why, Brother?"

"Just do it!"

Obligingly, the boy walked forward, watching the snake rear up and hiss menacingly. "Brother… I'm scared…"

Ed smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry! It won't do anything to you! He's harmless, remember?"

Get Al out of harms way, then run… seems like a plan, right? Aww…Ed's brow furrowed. How did he always get himself into these messes?

Finally, Al was about twenty trees away. He turned, noting Edward still far behind, staring down the snake. "Come on, Brother!" he shouted.

The elder's golden orbs looked to Alphonse for only a moment, then focused back at the killer in front of him. Well… here goes nothing…

Lifting his foot, Ed took a step back.

The snake struck, front teeth grazing Ed's arm slightly.

He jumped back with a scream, grabbing his arm. The snake reared up again, eyes set on actually biting this time. Naturally, Ed decided he'd have no part in this.

He turned tail, running with all his might. Unfortunately for him, the agitated snake pursued, biting at him again. Blindly, the golden-haired boy spun around a tree, running in circles in an attempt to thwart off the reptilian being chasing him.

Al screamed, starting forward to aid his brother. "Don't you dare! Stay… right there, Alphonse!" Ed yelled, pointing to Al on his way around. "I'll be right there!"

Eventually, Ed gave up on the idea that running around the tree enough would dizzy the snake. He rushed down the path, bounding toward Al at top speed.

"Run!"

Ed grabbed Al's arm, dragging him through the mud after him.

Ed looked over his shoulder. "Come on, Al! Run faster!" he called, trying to push himself out of the trees.

Al yelled back, "I can't! You know I'm slow!"

Ed grimaced. Damn five year-olds and their slow speeds… he cursed.

The water moccasin was quick on their heels, teeth bared. If only he hadn't been screwing around with it…

The two tore down the path as fast as they could, weaving in and out through the forest until, finally, the frightened boys broke free of the forestry, dashing through the grass that reached their shoulders.

The two jumped, reaching the dirt path and landing hard. Quickly, Ed sat up, looking back to make sure the snake had stopped following them. He sighed, smirking, then falling back. "Al… we lost.. it…" he panted, looking at his arm where the tooth had grazed him. It was puffy and red.

Al sat up, looking at the mark. "You okay, Brother?" he inquired, worry in his expression.

Ed stood, patting himself off. "Yeah, I think so. Nothing major- it didn't bite me, so I don't think I got poisoned… At least, that's what to book said."

He smiled, pulling his brother to his feet. "Homeward, then?" He quirked a brow.

Al nodded.

The two then walked home, both agreeing never to tell their mother of the romp in the woods.