Title: Life of the Party
Rating: PG
Summary: Ila invites Louie to one of her father's business parties and he manages not to make a fool of himself.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rune Soldier. If I did I would make ADV release the last two volumes of the manga series!

For all his foot stomping, shambling clumsiness when it came to adventuring, Louie was actually a pretty good dancer. At least Ila thought so. She was sure when she invited him to one of her father's business parties that she would have to give her classmate a crash course on the waltz.

Ila didn't pose the invitation as a date, she simply said there was going to be free food and drinks and the brash man was raring to go. He grabbed her arm and wrapped a hand around her waist and twirled her around with surprising grace.

Ila looked at Louie with wide eyes. "Was that a fluke, Louie? Or do you know how to dance?"

"Yeah, I can dance!"

Ila felt that her idea of dancing might be different from her friend's so she had to clarify some things.

"No, Louie, I'm not talking about the dancing you do when you get drunk." She blushed in memory. Louie had a way of getting in various states of undress when intoxicated. "There will be no paper fans involved either!"

"Relax, Ila. I'm not going to do anything to embarrass you. I know how to do those stuffy dances. Auntie Jenny taught me when I was little."

Ila smiled when she heard the tone in which Louie spoke of his "aunt." It was easy to tell that the Head Priestess of Mylee was one of the most important people in his life. Ila wondered if Louie spoke of her in a similar tone.

"C'mon, we're wasting music!"

"Oh, all right." Ila returned to his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. "I think tonight is going to be nice," she said in a dreamy voice.

"Oh yeah, me too! Especially if they have those little sausages… OUCH! Maybe you need some dancing lessons."

Here Ila was thinking of all the romantic possibilities and Louie was thinking about appetizers, cheap and classless ones at that. She stomped on his foot in irritation.

"I think tonight is going to be nice," Ila said again. For some reason Louie felt a little intimidated.

"Yeah…." Louie said warily.

-------------------

"Louie!" Ila whispered harshly. "That's enough! You've had four glasses already."

"Geez, Ila. Can't a guy loosen up a bit? It's a party right?"

"Louie, you said you weren't going to do anything to embarrass me. Are you going to break your promise?" Ila asked, her eyes misting up.

He walked over to her and said, "You should know that it takes more than a bottle of bubbly to make me get crazy. Plus, we haven't danced yet."

"I know! It's because the party just started!"

Louie sighed and blew his bangs out of his eyes. Without his yellow headband his hair got in the way more often. Ila wanted him to slick back his hair and Louie refused quite vocally. They reached a compromise and he pulled his hair back and tied it of with midnight blue ribbon. That along with his dressy attire was as aristocratic as he was going to get. "Hell, I'm not Conrad," he told her. Ila told him he looked handsome but he felt like a fool.

The band or rather small orchestra began playing a piece of music and Ila looked at Louie expectantly."

"May I have this dance," Louie said, placing his empty champagne glass on a traveling waiter's tray.

"No, thank you sir. I'm still working," the man said dryly.

Louie's eyebrow twitched. "Ha, not you, you jack—"

Ila stepped on his foot.

"Yes, you may," she said smiling up at him.

When he placed an arm around her waist and took her hand, he said, "You're going to get enough of stepping on my feet, Ila." He spun her around.

When she faced him again she countered with, "I'll stop when you stop being silly, so maybe you should invest in some steel-toed boots."

Louie laughed at her barb. "I think that hanging around the girls has corrupted you. Especially that Merrill." The fondness he had for the little brunette readily apparent.

They finished the dance in silence enjoying the others company. On the next song, Ila's doting father stepped in and Louie saw that as an opportunity to raid the appetizers. Whenever she got a good view of Louie pointing at some of the delicacies and asking questions she had to laugh. He was so different from anyone she encountered before. For all his ability to infuriate her he could make her smile simply by being present.

Ila's father picked up on her good mood. "I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself, dear."

"I really am, Dad."

As the song ended her father walked her over to mingle with some of his associates. When she finished charming them with her wit she stepped out to the balcony for some fresh air. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Sometimes these business parties could be overwhelming.

She turned to head back to the party and noticed Louie talking to a pretty blonde, a daughter of one of her father's business partners. She stepped closer and heard Louie say, "I'm sorry, I'm going to dance with Ila." Ila watched the girl walk away to ask someone else.

Ila thought on the way Louie said her name. She wasn't sure that he felt the same way about her that she did for him but she knew that she was important. Louie looked in her direction and waved as made his way to her.

"Hey, this is where you went. You okay?" Louie asked, noticing that his friend's eyes looked a little misty.

"Yeah, Louie," she said as she touched his arm. "I think something got in my eyes."

"Well there was this one lady with some loud perfume. That might've got you."

Ila laughed and gave him a hug. "I'm feeling better now."

"Let's go dance then. There's still some life to this party, right?"

"Absolutely!" Her cheer dampened slightly when she saw Louie's jacket.

"Umm, Louie, why are your pockets lumpy?" She reached for one of the flaps before he could answer and saw that the pockets were lined with oilcloth and filled with finger foods.

Ila could not hold back her peals of laughter. "You're ridiculous, you know that right?"

Louie didn't even feel insulted. "Yeah, but I'm a damn fine dancer."

They laughed all the way to the dance floor.

THE END