Work Text:
* * *
"What are you doing, Simon?" Picking up the edge of the sheet, Al peered under it to see a pouting face. He was pretty sure he'd seen that same expression on Ed's face just a few hours ago, when Winry had smacked his hand for trying to snitch the last piece of watermelon.
"Nothin'." Simon's mouth turned down in an even more exaggerated moue. He wrapped his arms around his legs, his chin on his knees.
"Are you sure?" His neck started to twinge - leftover pain from that last toss Ed had given him during their sparring match yesterday - and Al sat down on the floor. "It looks like you're hiding in a cave."
Simon narrowed his eyes. "Am not," he said, though it sounded more speculative than sulky.
"Really? Because it looks like a really great cave." Al gestured under the table. "Look - a tree is growing its roots down into your cave. I bet you could go for kilometers and not find the way out."
He blinked. A couple of times,and the knot he'd pulled himself into loosened. "It does?"
"Uh, huh. Do you know what lives in caves?" Al scooted himself under the table and the long cloth draped over it. When Simon shook his head, Al made a shape with his hands, swooping the figure toward his nephew's scalp with a high-pitched squeak. "Bats!" He swooped his hands down again, making Simon yelp. "And spiders!" Al tickled Simon's bare legs. The little boy howled, batting at Al's hands. "And worms!" Wriggling his fingers on Simon's arm, Al made gushing sounds, making Simon yell, "Eww! Eww! Stop, Unca Al!"
He jerked his hands back, folding them in his lap, waiting for Simon to settle down. It took a few seconds for the boy to stop laughing. When he did, he stared at Al, obviously waiting for something else to happen. When Al didn't move, Simon huffed. "What else is in the cave?"
Al offered Simon his hand. "Maybe we should get Becca and all of us find out together."
There was a split second hesitation before Simon grabbed Al's hand, the little boy's face wreathed in a smile scary as his dad's. "Okay Let's go 'splorin'!"
* * *