Commission for moonwatcher13! They asked for a post-battle story with a sprinkle of Freezerburn, which is exactly my kinda cup of tea~

Takes place after Vol3, ch5, Never Miss a Beat (hence the irony of the title).

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Missing A Beat

There were a lot of things that could make Yang angry.

Of course, there were different kinds of anger, varying in levels of severity.

There was the anger that came with fear whenever Ruby recklessly threw herself into a battle where she was clearly biting off more than she could chew.

There was the anger that came with disgust when her uncle made inappropriate comments about the skirt lengths of teenaged girls.

And then there was this anger.

It stemmed more from frustration, impatience, and her own inability to keep calm more than anything else.

This girl was so annoying.

And she's so friggin' fast!

Yang growled to herself as another burst of blinding rainbows flashed past her, followed closely by a giggle and some comment about her split ends.

Yang tore after her, firing round after round at the source, but the bullets only chased the skinny pink tail for a few feet before falling off course. Grunting, she threw another punch, and during the action she caught a fleeting glimpse of Weiss engaged with her own noisy opponent.

The dissonance of the trumpet was enough to discombobulate anyone who wasn't used to it. Combined with the roaring cheers of the crowd and the echoing voices of the announcers, Yang took a second to commend Weiss' ability to hold onto so much as a shred of concentration.

Yang raced after the streak of rollerblading colors, doing her best not to let her anger get the better of her.

Rocks were shattered, streams of lava blasted up, the ground beneath their very feet crumbled.

There wasn't a second of rest for any of them.

Yang destroyed every obstacle in her path, leaping high and throwing hard punches that never seemed to connect. She tried to let the taunting comments go in one ear and out the other, but they all seemed to jumble together inside her brain.

She growled again as her Faunus opponent rolled past her yet again, circling her playfully like some bubbly, nasally parrot.

"I wasn't trying to say you should go on a diet. I was saying you really need to go on a diet!"

She'd had it.

Yang stomped cracks into the ground, fists clenching tight enough to hurt.

"That's it!"

She was blinded by her anger now, just as she'd always tried not to let herself be.

But she just couldn't help it.

She was so intent on beating Neon into the ground that she never would have noticed the quadruple attack Flynt aimed at her defenseless back.

She never would've known what had hit her.

If it had ever hit her.

But it didn't.

The sudden, unmistakable blaring of the elimination alarm rang out, and Yang paused for long enough to realize what it meant.

Neon had paused for a moment as well, and they both peered through the thick white steam shooting up from the geyser.

Yang's eyes widened in utter shock.

"What...?"

She squinted as she looked through the smoke, and a figure emerged.

But it wasn't the one she'd wanted to see.

Everything after that was essentially a blur.

The professors announced the events as they transpired, but Yang wasn't listening.

She was seeing red.

Her crimson gaze was fixed on her targets, and her body moved on its own, aiming blow after blow at them.

She was absolutely furious.

It was a combination of several different kinds of her anger.

She was angry because her teammate had sacrificed herself and could be hurt now.

And she was angry at herself for being in the kind of situation that would warrant such a sacrifice.

She hadn't been paying attention. She'd let her guard down.

And Weiss had paid for it.

So she moved, shouting as she tore across the uneven terrain, then as she flew at them in soaring jumps, shooting off blazing bullets. She took one out, and then the other, until the cheering of the crowds was all that remained.

She stood there, panting, scarlet vision blurring in and out of focus, her posture one of hard-earned victory.

But she never would've gotten there on her own.

She blinked, and the colors came back to her sight. With a gasp, she whipped around.

"Weiss!"

She rushed to her side, falling to her knees on the molten ground.

Weiss was lying on her back, her pretty blue dress covered in soot, and her pristine white skin smeared with burns. She was struggling to push herself up, eyes squeezed shut from the pain.

Yang reached out to her with tentative care, gently supporting the center of her back and helping her to right herself a bit.

"Weiss! Are you okay?"

Her voice all but trembled with how weighted with concern it was. Her heart was striking fearfully as the heiress fought to open her eyes, groaning and hissing through her teeth.

Weiss lifted a hand to her mouth, coughing visible clouds of smoke in a worrying display. Her breath was coming quickly and weakly, and her chest heaved with thin wheezes of air.

Yang could feel her trembling, though she was struggling to appear composed and professional even now, after all that had just happened.

Yang swallowed thickly, worry slamming down on her with more force than the crowds had volume.

Once Weiss' bout of coughs had ended, she cracked one eye open, then the other. She moved her head with effort, as though it weighed as much as a boulder, before she could finally meet Yang's anxious gaze. Weiss let out a shuddering breath, her voice meek.

"I... may not be singing for a while..." she rasped.

She sounded so weak, so hurt.

But even so, she was somehow well enough to try her hand at a joke of sorts.

Yang looked her over briefly, trying to see if there were any open wounds. When she realized there was no blood, she sighed, feeling the gnarled knot in her chest loosen a bit.

"You know, I'm not sure that was proper form." She smiled, trying to keep things lighthearted.

Weiss played along.

"Oh, ha ha-ahg-!"

But her reply was drowned out beneath another bout of vicious coughs. Her breath hitched and was cut off as the coughs assaulted her chest, tearing through her throat so hard they overlapped one another.

It sounded like it really hurt. Her lungs were clearly clogged with smoke.

And it was all Yang's fault.

But before she could think to say anything else, she looked up to see Ruby and Blake tearing across the arena. They skidded to a halt and dropped to their knees, relief painting their features as they saw Weiss was conscious and even attempting a smile of her own.

"Good job you two!" Blake reached out to touch the heiress' stomach, not sure what to do with herself. She just needed to feel for herself that Weiss was okay, and the contact of her hand over her dress provided proof of that.

"Yeah!" Ruby braced her hands gently on her partner's shoulders, leaning over her in a protective, partial embrace of sorts. "Geez, you had us so worried!"

"You're tellin' me!" Yang released a long breath, one she felt she'd been holding in since the second Weiss had been eliminated from the match.

She'd intended to say more – a lot more – but the sudden echo of Doctor Oobleck's voice cut her off.

"Very good! Now then, since Miss Schnee's teammates have all decided to vacate their seats and rush to her side, might I ask that they please remove her from the field and take her to the infirmary in a timely fashion? An act such as hers was a valiant one, but the resulting damages should not be taken lightly!"

As his words rang out across the stadium, Yang realized the truth in them.

Weiss was coughing again, all but convulsing in her arms now. Her skin was unnaturally warm from the burns, and a veil of sweat clung to her skin. Every breath out of her lips was grey, and bits of soot and grit were being expelled as she ducked her face into her shoulder.

Ruby gasped softly and did her best to fan her a little.

"Whoa, whoa!"

"Take it easy," Blake soothed, her fingers curling into Weiss' dress. She looked up and met Yang's eyes. "Let's get her out of here."

Yang nodded.

"I got her." She pulled Weiss closer, silently making it known that she would carry Weiss herself. After all, it was Yang who was majorly responsible for what had happened to her.

Blake and Ruby got to their feet as Yang scooped Weiss into her lap, bracing her on her knee. The heiress managed to stop coughing long enough to make an effort at protest.

"H-Hold-" Another cough, another gasp. "H-Hold on. I can-"

"Sorry, Weiss. We don't have the time for that."

Yang wasn't about to risk letting Weiss try to stand on her own, let alone walk. She tucked the girl against her chest as she stood with controlled slowness, trying not to cause her any more pain.

Weiss folded her hands in her lap, stiff for a moment until she realized just how strong Yang was. Yang saw her blue eyes shift in and out of focus for a second, and she choked out another gasp.

"Fine..."

She didn't have the strength or the breath left to argue. Her eyelids fell shut, and her head lolled limply against Yang's shoulder.

The blonde tensed a bit as all the worst-case scenarios tried to stuff themselves into her skull. But the faint rise and fall of Weiss' chest reassured her enough to compel her to move.

Ruby hurried after her, and after picking up Myrtenaster, Blake was close behind as they headed off the arena.

Thankfully, two women dressed in medical uniforms were already approaching them, pushing a stretcher. As soon as they reached her, Yang took great care in lying Weiss down, doing her best not to jostle her.

She, Ruby, and Blake followed closely beside the stretcher as it was wheeled out of the arena and through a set of automatic doors. The raucous stadium was left behind them as the doors slid closed.

Then, it was just the rushed patter of boots over tile, and squeaking wheels.

Yang followed alongside the stretcher, unable to tear her gaze away from Weiss' form. She couldn't stop herself from reaching down to take one of the heiress' charred hands. Her nails were all cracked, and there was soot buried deep beneath them.

Yang rubbed her thumb lightly over the girl's knuckles as they headed down the hallway, bound for the medical wing that had been specifically constructed beside the stadium.

Ruby and Blake were hovering on the other side of the stretcher, keeping it steady as the medical personnel steered it from both ends. They were all made nervous by Weiss' sudden stillness, fear passing through all their hearts.

As they continued down the hall, it was Blake who spoke first, in hopes to reassure her leader.

"She'll be okay," she said softly.

Despite how proud she was of her sister and her partner, now Ruby seemed to be on the verge of bursting into tears. But the hand on her shoulder and the murmur at her ear allowed her to calm down a bit.

"Yeah..."

Blake was right. Weiss was tough. She'd be alright.

Ruby wiped her sleeve over her eyes as they approached a room. She glanced sideways to see that her big sister's eyes were glazed over, and she clearly needed the same reassurance.

Ruby reached out to put her hand on Yang's over Weiss'.

And Yang felt her touch, just when everything else had been starting to feel numb.

She blinked and shook her head, lifting her gaze to meet with watery silver. Ruby gave her a wobbly smile, and Blake seemed composed enough to share some of her levelheadedness with her partner.

Yang took a deep breath just as they reached the room. The nurses pushed the stretcher through the door and permitted the three of them to enter, though instructed they sit in the designated waiting area.

Being this wasn't a particularly large infirmary like Beacon's, but rather just one meant to deal with a few patients from the tournament at a time, Ruby, Blake, and Yang ended up staying within earshot of the nurses as they tended to Weiss.

Yang sat heavily in her chair, while Ruby and Blake sat on either side of her. They all shifted uncertainly and kept close to one another for a bit of support, reaching into laps, holding hands, and hugging one another softly as they were made to listen to the anxious voices of the nurses.

"Complete aura depletion. Give her a dose of that-"

"There's smoke in her lungs. We need to clean them out immediately-"

"Give her the oxygen mask-"

Ruby whimpered and huddled close to her sister. Yang put an arm around her, and was grateful that Blake did the same for her. The Faunus girl knew her partner was taking the blame for this upon herself, but she didn't want to break down in front of Ruby.

Yang sighed shakily and leaned into her partner.

"Don't worry," Blake murmured. "It's not as bad as it sounds. She'll be okay."

"Yeah..." Yang mumbled. "I just-"

"Don't start," Blake advised. "If you try to blame yourself, she's going to bite your head off and you know it."

Another sigh.

They waited for a little over ten minutes, while the nurses tended to Weiss on the other side of a curtain. Yang could hear them still talking, and now there was an additional sound, that of beeping. She knew it was the sound of a heart monitor, and that the sound she was hearing now was an indication of Weiss' heartbeat, proof of Blake's words that she really was going to be alright.

Ruby was still curled into her side, but it was clear that she and Blake heard it too, and the three of them felt a bit of stiffness ebb away from their postures.

A few minutes later, the nurses emerged, exhausted, but smiling. Ruby all but jumped up the second she saw them.

"How's Weiss, is she okay, can we go see her?"

Though Blake and Yang were a bit more reserved, they wanted to ask the same things.

One of the women presented them with a small nod.

"Yes. You may all go see her now. She's just regained consciousness."

Ruby didn't need any more permission beyond that. She darted off in a second, her cloak disappearing behind the flapping curtain.

Blake picked up Myrtenaster in one hand and supported Yang with the other as they thanked the nurses and followed after their leader.

Yang mentally braced herself for what kind of state she might find Weiss to be in, what kind of state she'd caused Weiss to be in due to her own incompetence on the battlefield.

A mask over her lips, wires pumping medicine into her veins...

But as Blake pulled the curtain aside, Yang was choked with a sob of relief.

Weiss was propped up in the bed against the pillows, with only two small wires on her wrist that connected to an IV drip and heart monitor. Her dirty clothes had been exchanged for clean white robes, and her jewelry and tiara sat on a small table nearby. Her skin and hair had been cleaned of soot, and judging by the way she was breathing much more easily now, so had her lungs.

As soon as her teammates came to her side, Weiss' lips curved up into a tired smile.

Blake propped her rapier against the side of the bed and sat in the chair beside Ruby's, who was leaning eagerly over the bed, grasping at Weiss' unwired hand.

"Weiss, Weiss-!" she cried. "Are you okay? You passed out and everything..." She tapered off, obviously not liking to think about it.

Her partner gave a gentle squeeze to her fingers.

"I'm fine," she rasped, meaning to address all of them. "A bit dizzy, but that's all. They gave me supplements to help replenish my aura."

"That's good to hear," Blake said, sliding her chair a little closer. But when she looked up, she noticed her partner was still standing. "Yang, come sit down."

The invitation snapped her out of her reverie, and the blonde lifted her gaze, finding it meeting directly with Weiss'. The heiress was clearly concerned for her, and Yang almost couldn't believe it.

Dummy, she thought. I'm the one who's supposed to be worrying about you.

She limped over to the side of the bed opposite where Ruby's and Blake's chairs were, but Yang didn't pull one up for herself. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed itself, as close to the heiress as she dared.

"Hey..." she said, smiling a little. "How're you feeling? Can you breathe okay?"

"I'm just fine," Weiss repeated. Since her right hand was occupied by Ruby's palms, Weiss placed her left over Yang's.

Yang couldn't help but see the wire, and with her eyes, she followed its path to the machines near the bed. The consistent beeping of the heart monitor provided solace for her. She breathed out slowly and bowed her head.

Weiss gave her a peculiar look.

"Yang? What's the matter? You won, remember?"

Yang's hand twitched beneath hers.

"Yeah, at what cost?"

Blake and Ruby frowned at her, their brows furrowing; they knew Yang was going to try and blame herself for this.

Clearly, Weiss knew as well, and she wasn't going to allow it.

"Yang, stop. Just stop right now," she said firmly. "Look at me."

Yang gulped, but did as was requested of her.

Weiss' eyes were as piercing as ever, and though she was obviously fatigued, there was determination there. Her voice sounded much better than it had twenty minutes ago, but Yang could still detect a faint rasp in it. Nonetheless, Weiss spoke sternly.

"Don't you dare go blaming yourself for this, Yang. I did what I had to, and I did it of my own volition. I was already bordering the disqualification numbers anyway. It was the best option. I knew I wouldn't be of much use, and you were our only chance. And you really came through, Yang. It's just..."

She swept her gaze around to Ruby, then to Blake, and then down to her lap. "When I saw what he was doing, aiming that attack at you... I... I got scared. My heart missed a beat. I just did what I had to."

Yang felt the knot in her chest tighten again.

"My heart almost stopped when I saw you lying there like that. Stupid..." she mumbled. "That's not-!" She felt a hot stinging behind her eyes and had to look away, her fingers squeezing Weiss'. "What I mean is... you didn't have to do that, Weiss. You got hurt pretty bad..."

"Oh, please," she said. "Once they started to replenish my aura, it took care of most of the burns. Nothing a bit of prescribed ointment and medication can't handle."

"Your aura was depleted!" Yang reminded her. "Do you know how dangerous that is? You could've-!" She bit her lip and stopped herself. "You could've been really hurt, you know... Worse than this..."

For a moment, they were all silent, though Weiss was now increasingly embarrassed about the fact that they could all hear every shift in her pulse.

"Well, nothing bad happened," Weiss mumbled. "Don't dwell on the what ifs."

"But this isn't the first time, Weiss!" Yang cried.

The heiress was taken aback by her sudden exasperation. Yang blinked furiously to keep the tears back, flashing a desperate look to Blake and Ruby. They'd been silent until now, but they both understood what Yang was getting at.

They'd all seen this side of Weiss, this high level of self-sacrifice on her part.

Blake caught the heiress' eye, and her bow twitched and drooped at the memories.

"Back on the train... at Mountain Glenn," she murmured. "You let me go on ahead to fight Torchwick, even though it meant you took on such a dangerous opponent... You got injured pretty badly back then. You passed out. I had to carry you out. You sacrificed yourself just so you could let me have my revenge..."

A wave of guilt swept through her, but she continued, for Weiss' sake.

"But I didn't want it, Weiss. Not when it meant you had to get hurt like that."

Weiss was silent, but she listened to every word.

Once Blake had finished recounting her piece, Ruby slid her chair in as close as possible, both of her hands squeezing Weiss' right. Her silver eyes flashed timidly up at her partner as she spoke.

"And even... back when we'd first met... back in the Emerald Forest, after we were done yelling at each other and stuff, y'know... with the relics and stuff and the Giant Nevermore... you fired the shot that let me reach it, and you were boosting me with glyphs the whole time! I never would've made it up that mountain to finish it off without you, Weiss!

"But you pushed yourself so hard that afterward you almost fell over!" She whimpered and lifted Weiss' hand up, cradling it to her chest gently.

Weiss said nothing as she thought back on the instances they'd mentioned.

She'd never... really thought about things that way. She'd never thought about how her friends might've felt to see her pushing her own limits like that.

But now that she was being made to consider it, she knew for a fact that she wouldn't have liked it one bit if any of them ever did such a thing.

In fact, just in thinking about it, the pace of her heart monitor fluctuated suddenly and skipped a beat.

Naturally, her teammates immediately showered her with concerned looks and words.

"Weiss?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Are you okay?"

Ruby was squeezing her hand even tighter now to try and support her in case she swayed.

Blake's gaze flashed to the machines to ensure they were still working properly and providing Weiss with the medication she needed.

Yang looked about to bolt and call for the nurses any second now.

Weiss shook her head quickly.

"No, no-"

But as soon as she noticed the tears running down her face, the others noticed, too.

"Weiss-" Ruby wailed, finally bursting into sobs of her own.

Blake reached out and put a hand on the heiress' lap.

"Does something hurt?" she asked.

Yang rubbed the girl's hand gingerly, but was finding it increasingly difficult to swallow.

"Weiss, you-"

"Goodness!" Weiss exclaimed, sniffling. "Just listen to me, you bunch of dolts! I'm fine! I'm... I'm just..." She sighed again, more tears slipping down her cheeks and neck.

Yang couldn't take sitting still any longer. She moved close and wrapped one arm around Weiss' back and the other around her collar. Weiss didn't resist her.

"I'm fine..." she repeated. "You all worry too much..."

"You make us worry," Blake said gently. "You need to stop throwing yourself into the line of fire, Weiss. If that happens again in a real fight, where there's not an infirmary nearby, you might not..." She couldn't finish the thought.

But they all knew what she was thinking.

Blake moved in close and reached around Weiss and Yang to join the embrace. Ruby quickly wiggled herself beneath Blake's arm and looped her arms around Weiss' stomach, sniffling into her partner's side.

"Weiss..." she mumbled. "We're a team, remember? I know you're always looking out for us... but you can't... you can't just... not when you could get hurt really bad again..."

Weiss sighed heavily, and the tears flowed freely now as she felt their arms around her.

"I understand..." she whispered. "I wouldn't want any of you to do it for me. I... can't make any guarantees that I wouldn't do it again, but... but I'll try. I will."

And while the other three weren't entirely happy with her answer, they could understand it. If they were in a situation where one of their teammates was in danger, and they could save her if they put themselves on the line, they'd do it.

But the mutual agreement now was that they would try to avoid such situations if at all possible, and they wouldn't put themselves in harm's way unnecessarily.

They needed those few moments together like that, to hold and be held, reassured that they'd all be okay.

Yang clung especially close to Weiss, just to be sure she was alright after the ordeal.

Weiss savored their closeness, their warmth, and their support. Her heart soared, and though she was bashful to let them all hear it, a part of her was glad they knew her true feelings.

Gradually, they moved apart, though they all kept close in a loose embrace. They pulled back far enough to be of comfortable talking distance, but not enough to break contact.

Ruby sniffled and wiped her face on her sleeve before shaking her head and trying on a smile to lighten the mood.

"So... how long are you gonna have to rest for?" she wondered.

Weiss was thoughtful as she recalled what the nurses had told her.

"They said it should only be until tomorrow. If things go well, they'll discharge me by tonight."

"Oh! That's good!" Ruby piped. "Wouldn't want you to miss seeing all the other matches!"

"Just take it easy until then," Blake told her. "We'll help you with your medicine and ointment for the burns."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Don't you worry, Weiss! We'll take good care of you. Promise."

Yang leaned forward and pressed her lips briefly to the girl's temple, a gesture of affection and reassurance that was second nature to her.

Ruby and Blake smiled supportively.

However, Weiss' face went instantly pink, and her heart rate sped up. Blake hid a chuckle behind her hand, while Ruby giggled and hugged her partner again.

"I'll go get you some coffee, Weiss!"

"I'll come, too," Blake decided. "We can have a bit of lunch here together."

The two girls stood, needing to stretch their legs a bit now.

"I'll stay here," Yang said.

"So will I," Weiss added.

They all chuckled a bit at Weiss' attempt at a joke. Ruby and Blake pushed aside the curtain and headed for the doors.

"Be right back!" Ruby called out.

Once their voices faded down the hallway, Yang turned back to look Weiss over.

The blush had mostly faded from her cheeks, and she was leaning heavily back on her pillows now, her posture slouching slightly. Yang knew how exhausted she must be – she was feeling pretty tired herself.

With a yawn, she stretched her arms up above her head.

"You should rest," she suggested. "Just until those two get back."

Weiss seemed more than willing to comply.

"I think I might do just that..."

Her eyelids began to flutter, weighted down by the events of the hectic match.

Yang listened as the steady rhythm of the heart monitor began to slow as Weiss finally relaxed. She couldn't stop herself from moving in to pull her into one last loose embrace.

"Hey, Weiss...?" she murmured. "I'm glad you're okay. Really glad. You know we all are." She could feel the heiress breathing deeply, her breaths coming much more naturally now without the smoke congesting her lungs.

"I know..." Weiss whispered. "Thank you, Yang..."

"Don't mention it."

She held Weiss like that for a moment, to remind the both of them that they were alright. With her chest pressed lightly over Weiss', she could feel the heiress' heartbeat just as easily as she could hear it now.

She held her until Weiss' breathing and heart rate had slowed, glad she could let her rest warmly and safely, while knowing she was cared for.

Yang moved back, keeping a hand on Weiss' shoulder briefly to ensure she wouldn't slump.

Then, Yang closed her eyes for a moment too, her hand sliding down to curl around Weiss', soft and warm.

A/N: I really loved the way Weiss sacrificed herself for Yang in such an unsophisticated way. And even more than that, I love how Yang held her so gently and they were all so worried about her. I hope in the next episode we'll see them taking care of Weiss a little bit, but I doubt it. I can dream.

If you like my work, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!

Please review!