Title: Motivation
Author: Kristen Sharpe
Date: December, 2011
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: "Fullmetal Alchemist" belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, Square ENIX, Studio BONES and various other parties.
Author's Note: Mangaverse, post-chapter 108. Written for the prompt: "Creating things with his hands, after his alchemy is gone".

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He had never been this bad at alchemy.  Even his first, childish transmutation circle had produced better results.  And, it hadn’t left him with black bruises on every finger.

This was more like finding food during his training.  He had no natural skill, books were useless, and only grim determination was going to produce any results.

Motivation was a little harder to come by though.  Because Winry and Granny Pinako were unlikely to let him starve if he didn't get the porch repaired.

But, he was at a sticking point in his research, and he felt worthless sitting around the house.  So, the porch it was.

Around noon, Pinako ambled outside with her pipe to survey the damage.

“Well,” she opined, taking in the wild scattering of crooked, bent nails, “I suppose it can’t be helped.  Hohenheim never was much of a handyman either.”

Ed felt a tick start above his left eye.

“Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.”

Motivation, it seemed, had found him.

And, if the porch wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty by the time he was done, it was at least sturdy.  And, somehow, the throbbing in his fingers was more bearable in the light of that accomplishment.