Disclaimer: Dragon Age belongs to Bioware and E.A Games.

"People use irony as a defense mechanism." - David Byrne

Mivia had a hard time dealing with Josephine asking questions about her life with the Carta, as they don't like it when business is talked about with other people without permission. She wasn't too worried about it, until the Ambassador decided to ask about how she felt about being a surface dwarf.

She answered honestly, saying how she believed in the stone and felt more at home underground and in Orzammar than anywhere else despite being a surface dwarf. No one asked about it after that, and that was just fine with her.

Now she had a curious Iron Bull asking how she felt about the mark on her face, it was just him being an ass she thought, and returned his questions with some of her famous sarcastic remarks she was known for. He just laughed and hugged her closer to his chest from her sitting position on his lap.

She now stood on the balcony in her quarters, starring up into the big open sky that literally ate her and spit her back out. Every dwarf's worst nightmare, she laughed at the irony of the whole situation, sharing the joke with Varric who also laughed at its irony and wanting to use it in one of his tales.

She did not hear the door to her room open until she heard it shut loudly, almost slammed. No one else but Iron Bull does that, as he doesn't seem to understand the door is significantly weaker than he is. He is going to break down all the doors in the inquisition, and she would just laugh about while watching her advisors fume and fuss over the Qunari's brutish nature.

"Hey, Bull." She said, not turning around to greet him like she normally would.

"Boss." He said, standing next to her on the balcony.

She loves the looks people give her when they realize the size difference between herself and Bull. She was a small dwarf, and he was a towering Qunari. Standing straight she only stood at about his waist, but that did not stop them from having a little fun with one another. The height difference forced them to be a little more creative is all.

As of right now they were just a type of friends-with-benefits kind of thing, but Bull and Mivia were definitely close friends if anything at all. She cared about his wellbeing, and she was sure he cared about hers, even if he would not admit it sometimes.

"I was serious when I asked about that mark." He said, not turning to face her.

She just took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, it was not something she was really proud of. She was opposite to Varric in that way, he was a surface dwarf through and through. She, however, felt more at home in caves and underground.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked, turning around to go sit on the small couch in her room.

"Curious, mostly." He said, following behind her while takin a seat next to her.

"It's kind of a long, winded story. Very boring." She said, trying to get him uninterested in her story about it.

"I've got time." He said, watching her carefully. No doubt using his training as a spy to evaluate her body language. Which was bad, as she was not very good at hiding physical discomfort from his piercing and evaluating gaze.

"Alright, but if it gets to boring you let me know. We can use this time to do other things…" She said, rubbing his thigh in her small hands. "I was born as a surface dwarf, in the Free Marches somewhere."

"My family, House Cadash, are a well-known carta family. I was smuggling Lyrium all over Thedas since before I knew how to speak. It was simple, and consistent work. Eventually, I was old enough, and trained well enough, to smuggle straight out of Orzammar." She explained, looking down at the ground in front of her.

"It went off without a hitch the first few times I did it. As the carta was able to pay off many people to look the other way if anything happened. I was the best, and nothing ever happened when I was in charge. It all happened so suddenly I just-"She stopped, and squeezed Bull's thigh a little harder.

"I was caught by some duster who thought that turning in carta members would get him some kind of favor from the ancestors. Needless to say I was placed in a holding cell for a few days, denied food or water." She moved her hands to be back into her own lap slowly, as she tried to think of a way to deflect this terrible mood this story has put her in.

"In short, they tortured me, demanded I reveal who my boss was, when I denied they placed this mark on me. I was banished from Orzammar and left to die in the deep roads… I am convinced the stone sense helped me out as I managed to find a way back to the surface." She shifted her weight from one thigh to the other as the floor seemed very interesting to look at.

"I was found my way back to the Free Marches, by the grace of the ancestors, and reported what happened. They weren't very happy as they had to pay off a lot of people, they made me work extra hours and move more cargo to pay off my debt. Reason why I was at the conclave."

"In short, I am banned from Orzammar for smuggling and owe the carta a lot of time and money." She said finally looking up to Bull, whom had an unchanged expression from when she started her story "But it's all good, yeah, I have a fucking castle and am head of a huge political and religious movement. Who needs those losers who are too afraid to leave their cave?" She said, smiling as wide as she could.

Iron Bull said nothing as he placed his large hand on top of her small head and stroked her red hair a little bit. In a way, they could relate to one another. He was Tal'Vashoth now, a fugitive to his people. She was a casteless criminal, banned from any official dwarven outpost.

She felt a few tears threaten to spill from her eyes, but she fought them off. She was not going to let Iron Bull see her cry, she wasn't going to let anyone see her cry. Varric might write about it and get even more famous, and no one wants a Varric with an even bigger ego.

Iron Bull easy picked her up and placed her in his lap. It was kind of a shock, because Iron Bull wasn't exactly known for his gentle touches or finesse. He was more of a rough and tumble kind of guy who never did or said anything he didn't mean.

It is times like this that Mivia hates being smaller than him, because she can't just wiggle her way out of his grip like she could other people. She just sat there, feeling her shoulders slightly tremble… She had to think of a one liner that could get her out of this mess.

"I need a drink. A strong, strong drink." She said, pushing slightly on Bull's arms.

"Good idea." He said, letting go of her.

She stood up and stretched out a little bit before heading to the stairs leading back into the main hall. He followed close behind her, not saying a word about what happened. She was sure he had noticed the irony in them both being outcasts, he might have been an ass, but he was also very observant.

Before she opened the door to the main hall however, she turned around and looked up at the Iron Bull with as much authority as she could muster.

"If you tell Varric, I will not hesitate to hurt you."

"Is that a threat, or a promise?"

A.N. I haven't really gotten the chance to start the Iron Bull romance officially, as my Pc can't run Inquisition and my brother wont let me play on the Playstation 4 because I "already beat it". I like to replay games at least a few times thank you very much. I just have to kiss up to him until I can buy my own system... Eventually I will save up enough money to do that...

Anyway, please review if you like it or have any critiques for me. I would write more about my Rouge Cadash and Iron Bull once I actually do his romance,