Try

To Fix What's Broken

He passes out as he hits the ground.

At least, he thinks he does.

A numbness begins and ends as reality restarts, welcoming him with a harsh flare of pain that seeps under his plastron, setting fire to every nerve. His eyes snap open and he grits his teeth, waiting for his watery gaze to clear. He wonders if letting Donnie make the final blow hadn't been a good instinct.

He hasn't exactly been making any good choices as of late.

Leo painstakingly forces himself to rise, fighting to breathe as his throbbing arm is pulled protectively to his chest, world spinning when he sits up.

He remains on the floor as his vision settles, wincing when he spots the purplish-gray blotch on green skin.

Donnie definitely hadn't been pulling his punches.

He looks up at his younger brother, the abandoned katana lying untouched and unnoticed at his feet. Donnie's face is blank as he stares at him with the bo still outstretched, as though unable to comprehend what his older brother is doing on the ground.

Silence thickens around them and he tests the waters. "So... Feel better?"

The staff clatters to the floor. "Leo!" 

Donnie rushes to him and drops to his knees. Leo allows his doctor of a younger brother to lay a hand on his plastron, examining the new crack of his own making.
It's visibly nothing more than another scar to add to the collection, but Donnie fretfully examines it anyway. With an air of understanding, Leo allows himself some time to breathe, getting his thoughts together.

Once he comes to the same conclusion Leo has, Donnie's hands slowly stop trembling and he wordlessly turns his attention to Leo's arm. He doesn't lift his gaze as he probes the area with careful fingers, gingerly pushing down to check on the bone.

Even though the touch stings and his plastron throbs, the gentle examination has Leo's buzzing anxiety settling, the pain barely a concern. He's snapped out of it. It actually worked. Donnie seems to be his clear-headed self once more.

Leo's grateful beyond words, and he's not about to waste his chance. There's so much to talk about, too much plaguing his younger brother, and he's going to get to the root of it.

He has to focus on the task at hand; everything else can wait.

Donnie has no such dilemma. "No broke bones- I'm honestly shocked. Relieved, too, obviously, I- Does it hurt? No- wait, of course it hurts! By Darwin, Leo, I can't believe you let me do that! What were you thinking!?"

When he finally looks up to meet his eyes, his gaze is worried and mortified, completely void of the previous anger.

Leo offers a sheepish smile. "You said it would make you feel better."

Donnie stares at him incredulously before shaking his head. "You're insane." He releases his arm. "And this needs an icepack."

Leo grabs Donnie's hand before he can fully stand. "We're not done here."

Donnie frowns. "But-"

"It can wait." Leo nods to the floor in front of him. "Sit down."

After a few seconds of hesitation, his younger brother obediently sits, but not without making his opinions known. "This could be serious. The bone could be fractured and I'd need to work on a cast. For now, an icepack should calm the swelling."

Leo has a suspicion that he's exaggerating, but whether or not it's true, he knows for a fact that Donnie's only fishing for an excuse to get as far from him as possible. "The minute we're done talking, we can do whatever you want."