Le Duo De Roses

by Webdog177

Ruby first saw Weiss as a young girl, and from then on was smitten. Spending her life learning the piano, she never once believed she would actually have the chance to meet the famous singer. But for Ruby Rose, sometimes the thing you want most happens when you least expect it... [Whiterose. Music AU]

1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: A few of you might remember this. I wrote Le Duo De Roses a year or so ago as my first attempt in the RWBY fandom. And for the most part, it was fairly well received for a first attempt. It was short, but the story was pretty solid; the characters being the driving force behind it. An opposite, in some ways, to The Odd Couple (another one of my favorites I wrote) in that it uses the 'famous celebrity falling for the nobody' trope that I have such a soft spot for. After finishing it, I put it on the backburner for a while to see if it could be expanded any further. Eventually I was able to do just that, in a somewhat unique way; by adding dual perspectives to the narrative.

The style isn't for everybody, but I feel that it adds something unique to the story, and makes it better.

So, enough of my rambling.

Enjoy.

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Le Duo de Roses

Part One

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The first time Ruby Rose could remember seeing Weiss Schnee was when she had been a child, at one of her concerts.

Ruby had been little then. No more than six or seven years old, she just wanted to play outside and run around with her friends. It was what children did, right? They played outside in the dirt and mud, not dress up, spit-and-polish, and go to a musical concert. But her mother and father, wanting her and her older sister Yang to be well-rounded, decided one day to do just that.

Back then Weiss had been just starting out as a singer. As a child, she was small, cute, and her voice was a nice change from the usual fair. She was a prodigy, of course. From the time she could talk she was taught to sing, and it showed.

Ruby could still remember being mesmerized by the girl, barely much older than she herself, standing in front of hundreds – thousands – of people, and sing in her small, high pitched angelic voice. It took Ruby's breath away, making her forget all about being angry at her parents for making her come. She just sat there eyes wide, as she watched Weiss sing.

When she finished, she performed a low, perfect curtsy before the audience, and was greeted with the loudest applause Ruby had ever heard in her life.

"Momma," Ruby said after they had gone home, as she was tucked into bed.

"Mmm?" her mother asked, smiling softly.

"Weiss was so pretty," Ruby said. "and she sounded like an angel."

Her mother chuckled. "She is a lovely singer, yes. I am glad you had fun."

Nodding, Ruby grinned widely. "I did! She's so pretty and nice and I want to learn to sing! So I can play with Weiss!"

"If you want to play with Weiss, how about you learn a musical instrument instead?" her mother said kindly, reaching out to stroke her fingers down Ruby's cheek. "Singers don't usually sing along with other people, but they do like to sing with an accompanist.

Ruby pursed her lips in determined thought. "What instru… instrument… should I play?"

"Violin?"

"Eh… boring." Ruby muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Flute?"

"Too small," Ruby said petulantly. Then her eyes lit up. "Ooh! What about the drums?"

Her mother's smile turned rueful. "I don't think Weiss would appreciate a drummer as an accompanist, Honey."

Again, Ruby deflated. "I guess…"

After a moment, her mother hummed, thoughtfully tapping a finger to her lip. "What about the piano?"

"The piano?" Ruby blinked her large, silver eyes.

"Yes." Her mother's tone was definite; pleased with her idea. "I think that Weiss would love a piano accompanist someday."

"Piano…" Ruby whispered, her imagination taking off like a sparrow flitting across a grassy meadow. Visions of herself, planted primly at a grand piano with Weiss beside her, dressed in her white dress and sparking tiara, matching her lovely voice to Ruby's equally beautiful playing.

It was then she knew; she would learn to play the piano, so she could someday play along with Weiss Schnee as equals.

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From then on Ruby practiced the piano. She practiced every day, for hours. All of her free time was either spent on her homework, which only grew in difficulty as she became older, or the piano. She still kept her friends, the ones she had since preschool, but she saw less and less of them as she became more engrossed in the piano – which had quickly become an obsession.

She devoured each and every piece of sheet music her mother brought to her. Eventually, she learned to play them well enough to move on to the most challenging songs, and one by one mastered them all. The songs written by none other than Weiss herself her Ruby's favorites, and she would spend countless hours sitting at her piano, learning them until she could play them by heart. She improved rapidly, if her tutors and family were any basis for belief, and only seemed to get better as she got older.

As she got older, so did Weiss Schnee.

Ruby kept up on any and all news relating to the Schnee heiress. It wasn't a difficult thing to do, as the girl was fairly high-profile and often did shows and was on television. An appearance here, a concert there -the girl was everywhere. And she only seemed to gain popularity as she grew older. As she got older and lost her childlike treble, her voice filled out and became a clear, pitch-perfect mezzo soprano. People would flock to her concerts in droves to hear her sing, to watch her as she would stand in the middle of the stage in her white dress, as she did when Ruby first saw her, and perform.

Her beauty certainly didn't hurt her popularity either.

At first, Ruby would practice the piano with the hope, however naïve it may seem, to play alongside Weiss on stage. She would play her small, upright piano in her room, taking occasional glace at her limited edition Weiss Schnee poster tacked on her wall, and play along with her recordings of various songs sung by the girl. She would imagine, if only for a few minutes at a time that she was there, playing a grand piano at a Weiss Schnee concert. The singer herself would be dressed in her customary white dress, a sparkling tiara in her hair, matching Ruby's rhythm in a slow ballad.

But, even as much as Ruby practiced, Weiss always seemed just out of reach— as far as her skill went. Every year that passed by had Ruby attempt to catch up to Weiss, so that one day she might be able to play along with her as equals. But every year it would seem that the white haired singer improved even more so. Each and every single she released, Ruby would buy. Each and every single Ruby bought, she would learn and play. Each and every single that Ruby tried to play, would be just a bit too difficult for her to play perfectly.

Eventually, Ruby began to lose hope. As she entered high school and the naïvite of her dream began to make itself known, she realized that she would probably never be able to play along with the older girl. For one, Weiss Schnee was famous – an idol. Ruby was a normal girl who liked playing the piano. They lived in two different worlds and Ruby was eventually old enough to understand that.

But, silly though it was, Ruby kept buying all of Weiss's singles and recordings, learning and playing then simply out of habit. There was something… familiar and comforting about it. She knew she would never be able to actually play with the famous singer. But she could still pretend that she was playing along with Weiss in her mind.

She was top of the class in music as Signal Middle School, and performed even better when she joined the Beacon High Orchestra. Her grades in classes non-music related were passable, but her apparent skill in piano offset any deficiency her academics may have had. It was all she really cared about all through school.

But still, being accepted at Vale University of the Arts at the age of seventeen was a pleasant, if not staggering, surprise, as their music program was one of the best in the world. Ruby hadn't thought she was talented enough to go there a whole year early, but her mother and father – Hell, even Yang! — insisted that she was more than talented enough to go there.

So Ruby went.

It didn't take long, with Ruby's apparent skill at the piano, to find a place in the University's orchestra. What was surprising was the fact that she ousted all the other skilled players there in being the principal pianist. This both shocked and frightened Ruby, as musicians were a temperamental lot, and being thrust to the forefront of such a group would be cause for many negative reactions from the other pianists.

Though, after hearing her play, not many people had it in them to complain. Ruby had chosen one of Weiss Schnee's earlier pieces for the orchestra interview, after all. And if she knew any pieces well, it was Weiss'.

So there Ruby Rose was, the youngest principal pianist for the Vale University Orchestra in decades. Her permanent place in the orchestra was all but assured, as she performed exceptionally at each practice, not matter what kind of piece the maestro would choose. Though, the Weiss Schnee compilations were by far her favorite.

Her classes were challenging, but she was managing with help from tutors to get her caught up and cram school in the evenings. She had skipped an entire year of high school after all, and it was difficult at first to get her assignments done. But, after the initial adjustment period, she finally found a balance between her studies and piano.

She was happy, if not extremely busy at times, with her situation, and wasn't expecting anything big to fall into her lap anytime soon. Unfortunately, or fortunately as others would say, it is when you least expect things to happen that they do.

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It was seven months into the term when it happened.

Ruby's classes had finished for the day, and the orchestra had been called together for a special announcement from the music director.

Sighing at the message on her phone, Ruby gathered her things from her desk all the same. It was not as though she did not want to attend the announcement, but she had already made mental plans to get a head start on a music history paper they were assigned earlier that day. However, after giving it some though, playing a bit of piano before returning to her apartment would be a good way to end the day.

She exited her classroom, waving to a couple of her classmates as they passed, and made her way to the First Music Room. As Vale University of the Arts was primarily a music school, there were many different music rooms. But the First Music Room was the largest – and was the dedicated room for the Vale University Orchestra to practice in.

She reached the music room in due time, as her final class of the day was at the other end of the school, and opened the door, stepping inside.

And then promptly halted in her tracks.

Standing there, dressed in white stockings, a white skirt, and white pea coat, her snowy-white hair tied into an elegant ponytail adorned with a sparkling white tiara, was the one and only Weiss Schnee.

Ruby gaped, her mouth popping open in shock as Weiss Schnee – fucking Weiss Schnee – was standing there, simply chatting with her music director. As if there was nothing weird about a famous singer talking with her teacher!

She must have been standing in the doorway a long time because eventually, a smattering of giggles and laughter brought her attention back from wherever it had gone, and even the fact that the majority of the orchestra, including Weiss and her teacher, were watching Ruby imitate a doorstop didn't help to keep Ruby from making a fool of herself.

"Ah. Here she is," her music director said, fighting a grin that all too obvious on his lips. "This is our new primary pianist, Miss Ruby Rose."

The introduction was all she needed to kick her into action, and Ruby lurched forward fully into the room, bowing at the waist, shouting "N-nice to meet you!"

Another chorus of laughter echoed around the room as Ruby realized she had yelled out her greeting, and quite loudly at that. Not only that, but she was bowing to the famous singer.

Really, who bowed anymore? No one, that's who.

Blushing furiously, Ruby righted herself and straightened her hoodie, trying her best not to look at anyone in the room, least of all the girl she had idolized most of her life. She instead chanced a glance at the director, who was standing beside Weiss, chuckling politely.

"Miss Schnee is something of an acquaintance of mine, Ruby," the man explained as he gestured for the rest of the group to quiet down. "She's gracious enough to visit once a year to participate in a small charitable concert. The one we've been practicing for, remember?"

Suddenly, it all made sense to Ruby. They had been practicing one of Weiss' more famous pieces, along with several lesser known ones, for weeks. Ruby had thought nothing of it, simply attributing it to her teacher's preference – as well as her own – to Weiss Schnee. Now, with the famous idol herself standing just a few feet away, staring down at her with an unreadable expression, it made total sense.

It did not make the fact that woman herself was here, right now, any easier to swallow.

"O-oh… ah, yeah," Ruby swallowed, forcing a laugh out as she shuffled around on her feet, unsure of what to do or say. Her teacher seemed to take pity on her, as he half-turned towards the white-haired singer, and the rest of the class in the process.

"Okay everyone, you know the drill. Take your seats and prepare for Neige en Montagne. Weiss? Please make yourself at home."

Ruby watched at Weiss nodded solemnly and moved to a chair in a corner of the room, setting herself down. As soon as her body made contact with the chair she sat up, her back straight. She lay her hands on her thighs, and swept her gaze around the room, seemingly taking in each of the players; from the principals, their assistants, and the assorted players in each of their sections. Finally, her gaze landed on Ruby, who still had not moved from her spot near the entrance to the room, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

It was then Ruby realized that she had been staring.

"Ruby?" the director said, jostling the girl's attention away from the perfect creature in the chair and back to him. "You can take your place now."

Another round of laughter erupted from the group as Ruby ducked her head, attempting to hide her blush, and scrambled over to her piano. She sat down as the laughter slowly trickled away, but her blush remained strong. She knew the others did not mean anything malicious by laughing at her, they had been fairly friendly and supportive since she had started, but that thought didn't help the humiliation she was feeling at the moment.

Settling herself down at her piano, she took a long, steady breath and released it. Being at a piano always made her feel better, and even in this situation it helped somewhat. It was familiar, after all. The seat beneath her, the keys under her fingers, and the smell of polished wood of the baby grand. It wasn't a full sized grand, but it was the best she had right now. Her own piano in her apartment was good for a small upright piano, and served its purpose. But it wasn't quite the same as the sound she got from a grand.

Already feeling better, Ruby released a breath and looked up, chancing another glance at Weiss in the corner. To her shock, the older girl was watching her, her bright blue eyes unblinking. Ruby froze under Weiss' focused gaze, unsure of whether she should blink herself, look away, or even turn to see if the person Weiss was actually looking at was sneaking up behind her. But she could not; all she could do was return Weiss' stare, trying to match its intensity but clearly failing. Ruby had never been very good at staring contests.

She lost to her dog, Zwei, all the time.

Ruby averted her eyes, a fresh blush warming her cheeks as she focused on the piano keys. They were familiar. She could take comfort in them, and could get through this without spazzing out. Maybe. Probably.

It was a work in progress.

Taking another calming breath, Ruby tore her eyes away from her idol barely three meters away from her, and focused on the director, who had just taken his customary place on his podium.

"Alright guys and gals," he said, raising his hands. Ruby lifted her own, her fingers poised in a practiced position for the beginning of the piece. "As always, if you screw up, it's on you."

Rolling her eyes at the man's quirky humor, Ruby grinned and, determined to do right by the song – at least in the composer's presence – started the piece with a flourish.

Ruby Rose had always had a talent for piano. Ever since picking it up as a girl, one would think her small size would make it more difficult to reach the end keys, or for her feet to reach the pedals. At first, it had been. Ruby was a smallish girl, there was no denying it. But, not to be deterred from her goal, Ruby learned little tricks to help her become better to accommodate her size. She would learn to work around certain songs with difficult notes by changing then ever-so-slightly, so that she could reach the highest and lowest keys with ease. She would also wear shoes that make her just the barest inch longer – just enough to properly reach the pedals. It was never big changes, but they were enough to compensate for her small stature.

Oh. And she drank milk. Lots and lots of milk.

The song progressed well enough. Ruby had practiced along with the others so many times she could practically play it with her eyes closed, and she was confident she did it justice. When the song finally finished, the girl slid her eyes towards Weiss to see her reaction.

The girl's face was a study in neutrality. Not quite pleased, but clearly not affronted by their interpretation of her song, Weiss simply nodded her head and stood from her chair gracefully, her eyes shifting towards Ruby in the barest of glances, and then turned to regard the Director.

"Ably performed, Steven. I was particularly impressed with your wind ensemble," she said, her lips finally curling into a soft smile.

"Thank you, Weiss." The dipped his head in recognition and sent a grin towards the mentioned group, who had started murmuring softly amongst themselves. "Would you like to hear any others before the rehearsal tomorrow?"

Weiss' eyes narrowed in thought, and as quickly as one could blink her gaze cut towards Ruby, who jumped at the sudden attention.

"You, what was your name?" she snapped, her tone brooking no hesitation.

"U-uh… Rose! Ruby – er… Ruby Rose. Ma'am. Um… Miss Schnee," Ruby stammered, making to stand from her bench, but only serving to knock her thighs on the bottom of the piano. She hissed audibly, but still managed a pained grimace as a smile after another smattering of chuckles drifted through the room.

"Ruby Rose," Weiss repeated, nodded slightly. "Can you play Le Duo De Roses?"

Ruby blinked, thinking back to the particular piece the girl referred to. It was, quite honestly, not a very commonly played composition of Weiss'. It was made a few years back when the girl had been going through a 'duet phase', as opposed to her more recent orchestral pieces. Ruby had picked up the score – naturally – and had engraved the song into her heart as soon as she could. As such, she could play it, and play it well enough, she supposed, to match even the most die-hard Weiss Schnee fan.

But could she please the singer herself? Ruby had no idea.

"Yes," Ruby finally said, swallowing. "I know it."

"Play it," Weiss commanded, walking over towards Ruby and stopping at the other end of the piano, letting her hand rest on the polished black-stained wood. Ruby's attention flicked to the girls fingers – her perfectly manicured nails and fucking hell they looked delicious – and then swallowed again, turning her gaze to the director, who was watching, bemused.

"Sir?" Ruby asked, clearly fishing for permission to adhere to the idol's request.

The man nodded, leaning on his podium. "Go ahead, Ruby."

Permission granted, Ruby settled herself back down on her bench and lifted her hands, her mind racing as she brought up the piece Le Duo De Roses in her mind. Starting slow in a piano-centric intro, the song quickly picked up the pace when the vocals entered, and never really let up as both the piano and the singer matched each other for the entire five minutes of the song's runtime.

It should have been a moving romantic piece – Ruby could recognize it as such. But with her heart hammering in her chest and her fingers tingling with nervousness as she flexed her knuckles, she could only feel the weight of Weiss' stare on her as she tried to stem her rapidly dwindling nerves.

"Ready." Her voice barely a whisper.

With a nod from her idol, Ruby sucked in a shaky breath and shut her eyes, forcing herself to focus on the music – the keys and the pedals – rather than the girl herself. It helped somewhat, and then she pressed her fingers to the first key.

The familiar hum of the piano did its work as Ruby played the introduction, and Ruby found herself thinking back to a younger girl, barely thirteen years old, first learning this song alongside her poster of Weiss Schnee on her wall. Back then there was no pressure, and no worry if she messed up. It was nice, relaxing, and Ruby found comfort in the memory.

As the intro ended to make way for Weiss' vocals, Ruby finally fell into the familiar rhythm of her playing, and she could almost imagine the other's voice – pitch perfect and wonderful, as always – rise up from the depths of her soul to match her note for note.

Ruby opened her eyes, expecting her to be – disappointing though it might have been – back in her room, playing her upright along with her old Weiss Schnee recordings. She hadn't done so for a long time, but sometimes nostalgia was a powerful thing, and more than once the pianist had been tempted to do so.

But she was not alone in her room, listening to Weiss' recordings. She was barely three feet away from the young woman herself, playing along with her as she had wanted to in her dreams since that day she first saw her on stage. This, whether or not she had planned on it, or whether or not they were actually playing in front of a large audience together, was what she had wanted most of her life.

She may as well enjoy it.

The last vestiges of her nervousness draining away in the face of her revelation, Ruby's lips curled up into a wide grin, and she leaned over the piano, putting all of her energy into her playing. She wound her fingers around the keys like they were a part of her, and she moved her hands to and fro, hammering her fingers with precision and care. She matched Weiss' vocals perfectly, as she always had imagined, and flicked her eyes up to watch the singer just to get a taste of the girl's reaction to her playing.

If anything, the older girl's suddenly intense gaze on Ruby almost made her skip a whole measure. It was only her familiarity with the piece that kept up with Weiss' singing, and Ruby returned the girl's stare with a slightly raised eyebrow.

What? What's the problem?

Then, suddenly, Weiss' pitch changed. She lowered her voice a whole octave, and Ruby scrambled to shift her position on the piano to keep up with the new tone. It was a close thing, and Ruby barely was able to slide her fingers along the keys to continue the song, but she made it just in time, and breathed a sigh of relief as she fell in step with the girl's singing.

Ruby flicked her eyes up to Weiss again, and frowned as she watched the intense look in the white-haired idol's eyes turn icy. The cool look in her eyes only lingered for a moment, however, before it melted away into determination.

Before Ruby could even get used to the new pitch and tempo of the song – one that she hadn't even known could be used with Le Duo De Roses before now – Weiss upped the ante by yet again changing her tone. This time, she rose a full two ranges so that her previous contralto warble was replaced by a sharp coloratura soprano. The change was so sudden and alarming that Ruby actually stumbled over her keys for the barest of beats, but gritted her teeth in effort to keep up.

Her fingers blurring, Ruby shifted herself on her seat to accommodate for the higher range of Weiss' new tone, and sent a scowl in the older girl's direction once she settled into the new rhythm. Her glare was matched with the idol's inexplicably fierce gaze, and Ruby snarled inwardly, determined not to lose to this girl.

Suddenly, with the force of a lightning bolt, it hit her.

This was a test – a challenge. Weiss Schnee was setting this up as a measure of Ruby's skills as a pianist, and unless she missed her guess from Weiss sudden and drastic shifts in her singing to catch Ruby off guard, she was doing pretty damn well in that regard.

The thought of her measuring up to the singer bringing a smile unbidden to her lips, Ruby continued playing, her fingers flying in effort to impress the girl. Every time Weiss shifted her tone, or changed the pitch or tempo of the piece, Ruby was right there alongside her, matching her as she always wanted to, her toothy grin all too wide and carefree. Her feet worked the pedals and keys with intent, and she almost laughed aloud at the frustrated glare the idol would send her way whenever she successfully met her challenge, even going so far as to send a few tweaks to the song her way, causing the white-haired singer herself to stumble, racing to catch up to the pianist's musical game.

Finally, after five minutes that had seemed like hours to Ruby, the song ended and she finished the piece with a flourish after Weiss sang her final note, letting her voice linger in the room as all noise died out. Ruby was panting slightly, her fingers trembling and her back itching with sweat. But her grin was wide – almost painfully so – and she could not help the laugh that threatened to bubble up from her chest at what had just happened.

Ruby had done it. She had actually done what she had dreamt about doing ever since she was a child. And it had been fantastic. Better than that, Ruby never felt so alive, so energetic, and so fulfilled.

Shooting to her feet, her smile so wide it was threatening to split her face in half, she turned to regard her idol—

And then promptly froze, her smile disappearing as though slapped right off her face.

The fierce glare Weiss Schnee sent her way was anything but pleased, or friendly. Her blue eyes narrowed to slits as Ruby blinked, suddenly feeling very anxious under the older girl's icy expression.

Finally, with what seemed to be a supreme amount of effort, the singer collected herself. She shut her eyes and drew a deep breath through her nose, released it, and when she opened them again, her neutral expression was back.

Turning to the director, she cleared her throat. "I am impressed, Steven."

The man shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes twinkling. "Would you like to participate in dress rehearsal on Friday?"

Nodding, Weiss stepped away from the piano, brushing as her skirt with her hand. "That sounds acceptable. It would be good to get a feel for how I work with the entire orchestra."

"Good. And… what we talked about?"

Weiss' stare cut to Ruby for the barest of moments, and her lip seemed to curl. Ruby shuffled her feet, looking down and tracing her fingers along the keys of her piano nervously. When Weiss spoke again, Ruby chanced a glance back up to see her profile regarding the director.

"Again. I am impressed," the girl said. "You didn't lie."

Shrugging again, he simply rolled his eyes. "I never once lied to you, Weiss."

"Yes, well," Weiss muttered, trailing off as she turned towards the rest of the orchestra. "Thank you for your hard work. I look forward to playing with each and every one of you," she said clearly, sliding her foot forward and dipped in a perfect curtsy.

Despite the strange and slightly disappointing looks the singer sent her way, Ruby swooned a little as the girl bobbed her head gracefully, and then righted herself.

"I will see you all tomorrow for practice. I am confident that we will make this fundraiser a success."

Her words, spoken with a beatific lilt that was unique to Weiss Schnee, were taken to heart as everyone clapped, some of the boys whistling as Weiss sent a polite smile back in response. Then, as though it was scripted, or at least given the barest of thoughts, she snapped her gaze towards Ruby, who froze like a faun under the stare the singer sent her way.

Ruby knew the look. She had grown up being the recipient of such a look most of her life. With such skill at playing the piano, and a one-track mind with her practicing, it was all-too easy to be on the receiving end of that look from the time she first joined the music ensemble in Signal Middle School.

Oh yes. She knew it very well.

It was jealousy. Weiss was glaring at Ruby in what she knew to be jealously; jealousy and resentment. So caught up with her own jubilation in having her dream become a reality, Ruby had unintentionally one-upped Weiss Schnee, idol and superstar, at her own song.

To a musician – much more so to a singer of Weiss' caliber – that may as well have been a blow to the stomach.

Oh…Fuck me…

Ruby was barely able to suppress the horrified moan that leaked from her lips as she witnessed Weiss turn to leave, her ponytail whipping to and fro, and curling as she rounded the door, finally disappearing from view.

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End of Part One

A/N: See you all on the next chapter!

***Will work for glomps***