The drive to her place was quiet, despite Neji trying to coax her into conversation. Tenten still didn't know how he had talked her into driving her home—she was perfectly able to drive herself. Although, just as she thought that her eyes once again filled with tears. She had been fine while arguing with Neji, but now that her anger had settled, the overwhelming sense of loss and hopelessness was resurfacing. What was she supposed to do? First her client had threatened to sue her, and now this? She didn't have the money for a hotel—and she didn't want to stay in a hostel, despite having suggested it. She had a couple of friends in the city, but they wouldn't have room for her to stay, not for a whole week or two.

Her mind returned to Neji's offer but once again she dismissed it. How could she stay with him for a whole week? His suggestion had terrified her—but not because she didn't like the idea. Neji made her feel safe, something she hadn't truly felt in a very long time. His presence alone had a calming effect on her, even though his words infuriated her most of the time, and she was worried that she would come to crave his bossiness, his need for control.

Because deep down she knew that's what she needed. Someone to take control when she didn't have the strength to. She didn't want to give up her independence, but she wanted that safe haven, that protection from the storm which seemed to continually batter at her relentlessly. And she couldn't get that by herself. Dodgers helped, but she knew she needed more. Someone to help her realize that it was okay to let go of her worries because they would take them on. It was exhausting pretending to be strong day in and day out.

And that alone was a good enough reason for her to decline Neji's offer. She couldn't be in the presence of the man for that amount of time and keep her resolve. Her need for someone to take control was getting stronger, especially after this latest fiasco. She wanted to give in, to say yes, but she was terrified of what might happen if she did.

Tenten hated being this vulnerable. Her life had long ago taught her that she needed to be strong, that she had to take care of herself, because no one else would. Everything she had accomplished in life she had done so while struggling, and with sweat and tears. Yet here she was, letting a bossy, frustrating lawyer help her. All she wanted force the infuriating man to leave and bury herself in blankets on the couch with Dodgers. Watch a true crime documentary on Netflix or a murder mystery. That would calm her down enough for her to be able to think about this distressing development with a clear head. Well, perhaps not calm her, but it would take her mind off her growing issues.

But she couldn't because her damn apartment was flooded. She was homeless for at least a week, with nowhere to go. You do have one place you can go, she thought to herself. But no. No way could she do that. That would be too dangerous—not physically, but emotionally. Mentally.

Neji pulled up outside the address she had given him—reluctantly, of course—and switched off the engine to his classy BMW. Turning to face her, his eyes tracked her features, silently assessing. She hated that he did that, as though he knew exactly what she was feeling just by looking at her.

"Well, thanks for the ride," she said with faux cheerfulness, unbuckling her seatbelt. "If you want to wait here, I'll just grab my things and you can take me back to the gym."

Her hand was on the door handle, ready to bolt from the fancy car, when his voice rumbled a warning, "Little girl."

She turned to him with a glare, her heart beating wildly at the term. "Don't call me that."

His eyebrow quirked at her words, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I think you quite enjoy being called a Little girl," he accused.

"You must be smoking something if you think that. Why would I enjoy something so patronising?"

All amusement fled his face, his features hardening. "You know that is not how I mean it. And I told you I do not like to be lied to, Tenten."

"I'm not lying! And I'm not going to argue with you, Neji. I appreciate you driving me home, even though I could have easily done it myself. Now, I would appreciate you staying here while I get my stuff."

To Tenten's frustration, Neji exited the car when she did. She shot him a look. "What are you doing?"

"We were about to go inside, were we not?"

"I was going inside. You were waiting here for me."

"Tenten." Her name was a warning on his lips, and she tried not to be affected by it. "We have to finish our discussion."

"There's nothing to discuss. This is none of your business, Neji." She ignored him as she entered the elevator, pressing the number for her floor. During the ride, she fished her keys out of her bag, and marched towards her apartment as soon as the doors pinged open.

Before she could unlock her door, Neji spun her around and pushed her against it, his hand tilting her chin towards his face, so she was forced to look at him. "That is where you are wrong, Tenten. It is my business." With that, he plucked her keys from her fingers, unlocked the door, and let himself in like he owned the place. Leaving her standing in the hallway, her heart racing at the nearness of his body and the low, commanding sound of his voice.

After recovering her equilibrium, she fought to remain patient. It would do no good to yell at him right now. Instead, she fixed a glare onto her face and followed him in, arms crossed over her chest. If he thought she was going to accept his help, he was sorely mistaken.

.

Neji resisted the urge to show his amusement as he watched Tenten follow him into her home. She was adorable when she was angry. His face turned concerned, though, when he watched her take in the sight of her apartment. The place really was a mess; water damage was already visible along the walls and there was nothing in the living room that had been spared. The couch was practically soaked through, the carpeted floor squishy under their shoes.

Ignoring the damage for a moment, he took another look around. The small space was clean and tidy, but he did not see many personal effects. There was a photo of a younger version of her—perhaps eighteen or nineteen years of age—in front of a large mountain, hiking gear on and a huge smile across her face, but other than that, he could not find anything. Nothing of her parents, friends. Nothing that suggested she had a social life outside of her job at the gym. Neji wondered what his feisty little girl did with her spare time.

"Well, this is going to be a bitch to clean up," she said, drawing his attention back to her. She spoke the words casually, but he could see the tension in her shoulders, the way she fisted her hands by her side. She was more affected than she let on.

"Language," he chastised, but the word held no heat. He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Not tightly, but firm enough that she would recognise that he was there with her. For her. She didn't have to go through this alone. "Come, let us get some of your belongings."

Her gaze found his, but the fire he usually saw in their depths had dimmed. He didn't like that. Neji preferred her sassy, even though it made him itch to spank her for it.

"I'll go pack. You can just sit here and wait for me." She looked at the couch then added with a grimace, "Well, you might not want to sit. But I won't be long."

He did not wait, of course. Neji followed her as she walked to her bedroom and leaned against the doorjamb as she took in the watery mess that surrounded her. He noticed it too, but what caught his eye was the very wet, very old looking teddy bear sitting pride of place on her saturated bed.

Neji's eyebrows rose at the sight, a warm, pleasant feeling coursing through him. He had known Tenten was a submissive almost from the moment he had met her, despite her tough exterior. But he had pegged her for a Middle, what with that potty mouth and bad temper of hers. So, it surprised him to see the stuffed bear. Of course, that alone didn't mean she was a Little. But he was quickly learning that her reactions were just a defence mechanism she used to avoid letting anyone get too close to her. Neji had no doubt now that hidden beneath all that feistiness was a sweet, loving Little. And he was determined to coax her out of hiding.

Tenten noticed his line of sight and quickly moved to her bed to hide the stuffy. But when she picked it up and felt the dampness, Neji saw her eyes fill with tears once more. His poor baby was so on edge that any little thing could tip her over.

He was ready to walk over and pull her into another comforting hug if she needed it, but she closed her eyes, took a deep, steadying breath, and put the bear back onto the water-soaked bed. Then, she turned and started pulling clothes randomly from her dresser, stiffly shoving them into a damp backpack. Neji watched as she walked out of the bedroom, coming back a few minutes later with toiletries which she also threw into the bag.

Soon—much sooner than he thought possible—she was standing before him, backpack around one shoulder, ready to leave. He frowned down at her, not liking that she hadn't stopped to choose her clothes properly, but more so, that she hadn't grabbed the obviously much loved stuffy.

"Will he not get lonely here by himself?" he asked her, nodding towards the teddy bear on the bed.

She tensed, turning to glance back at the stuffy. He knew she was lying when she said, "Oh, he's just for decoration. I don't need him or anything."

Neji wanted to scold her for lying again—he could tell just by looking at the stuffy that it had been well loved for a long time. But he didn't. All he did was raise an eyebrow and frowned down at her while crossing his arms over his chest. He was not going to argue with her. "Tenten, get your stuffy."

Her eyes widened and a blush darkened her features. "It's not my stuffy. He's just for decoration."

"Tenten," Neji used his Dom voice, making sure she knew he meant business. From the way her eyes dilated at his tone, he knew she was affected by it. "Get. Your. Stuffy."

The huff she exhaled was both adorable and bratty, and she stomped her way to the bed to pick the teddy up. Despite trying to seem uncaring, she held the stuffy carefully, cradling it to her chest like the precious thing he knew it must be.

"Good girl," he praised. "Are you ready to go now?"

"Back to my car?" she asked, her voice almost sounding hopeful. It was cute that she thought they were still going back to the gym.

"No, baby girl. Back to my place. You will be staying with me while your apartment is being fixed."

And there was the fire back in her eyes. She didn't like him telling her what to do, which was exactly why he had phrased his words that way. He did not want to see her so defeated. This Tenten—this fiery, passionate woman—was what he enjoyed.

"I already told you, I'm not staying at your place. And there is nothing you can say that will change my mind!"

.

It took them twenty minutes to reach Neji's house on the other side of town, and Tenten was awestruck as he gave her a tour of his place. It was big and spacious, just what she would have assumed for a lawyer, but it still felt homely. Not stark and clinical, like some houses you see on television. It looked lived in, with photos of who she assumed were his family on the wall, and a beautiful painting in his living room of a lovely field surrounded by fog.

After the tour, Neji showed her to her room and let her get settled while he started on dinner. Now that she was alone, she had time to reflect on what the hell happened. She had been adamant about not going to his place, yet here she was—in a guest bedroom in his house.

Tenten tried to argue with Neji back at her apartment, but he had refused to bite. Instead, he had taken the backpack from her and ushered her out the door. In the car, he had patiently reminded her that this was the best course of action; that she could stay with him, rent free, for the next week. She would be closer to work from Neji's, and she could commute, letting her save some money on fuel costs.

The clincher, though, had been that she had nowhere else to go. And she figured that they would both be working for most of the time, which would mean she would only have to deal with him in the evenings. And even then, she could hide away in her room if he got too overbearing.

In the guest bedroom, Tenten made herself busy by putting her clothes away into the dresser provided. She realized that in her haste to grab anything back at her apartment, none of her outfits matched. And worse, she had forgotten to grab extra underwear. At least she was currently wearing one of her work outfits, which she would need tomorrow. She'd need to have them washed and dried after her shower, ready for her shift.

After putting her clothes away, Tenten turned her attention to Dodgers, sitting at the end of the bed. Her heart lurched at the sight of him. Her one constant for most of her life looked bedraggled and sad, and it made her want to cry all over again, even though she knew he would be fine. But it just seemed like the icing on the cake of what had easily become one of the shittiest days of her life. She picked him up, cuddling him to her chest as she silently apologised.

A knock on the door had her startling, and she turned, Dodgers in her arms, to see Neji opening the door. His voice was soft, even tender, when he said, "We can put him by the window in the kitchen so he can dry off tomorrow. Will you be okay without him for a night?"

Tenten didn't know how he knew she slept with Dodgers, and she flushed at his question. "Of course," she replied indignantly. "It's not like I sleep with it. I told you already; it's just for decoration."

That pesky eyebrow of his raised in response, and his voice was a low growl when he admonished her. "You need to stop lying to me, little girl. Do you believe I will think less of you if I know you have a stuffy? Is that why you keep lying to me about him?"

"What kind of adult keeps a stuffed bear?" she questioned, her voice more uncertain than angry. Really, how pathetic was she?

"A lot of adults keep toys, whether for sentimental reasons or because it calms them. There is nothing wrong with having a stuffy, Tenten." He held out his hand, a silent request for the teddy, and Tenten hesitated a moment before handing it to him. Neji took a closer look at the stuffed bear before asking, "What is his name?"

Tenten flushed anew. How could he so easily embarrass her with just a few words? "Dodgers."

"Ah. It is nice to meet you, Dodgers," he said pleasantly, taking the bear's left paw and shaking it. Tenten had to hold back a giggle at the sight of this serious looking man talking to a stuffed bear, but she couldn't stop from smiling. Neji lifted his head and winked at her. "Dodgers said that you should listen to me without argument from now on."

She gasped. "He did not! Dodgers would never side with you."

Neji grinned at her, and her heart almost stopped at the sight. He looked so happy, and all they were doing was talking about a stuffed bear. "I am afraid that he did indeed side with me, Poppet. Maybe he will sleep with me instead after he dries off."

Tenten knew he was teasing, but she glared at him anyway. "You wouldn't dare!"

Eyes softening, Neji handed her back her stuffy, running a hand softly down her hair. "Of course not, baby girl. I would never take him from you. Now, dinner is ready and warming in the oven. Would you like a shower before or after we eat?"

Her tummy rumbled at that exact moment, and she flushed. "I'm starving, actually. Could we eat first, please?"

"Of course, baby." He held out his hand for her and she took it without thinking. The soft smile he sent her warmed her insides and made her want to please him just so she could see it again. "Do you think Dodgers would like to go in the dryer? That way he will be nice and dry by the time you go to bed tonight."

She bit her lip as she thought about it. Dodgers was old—she'd had him since she was a little girl—and she didn't want anything to happen to him. But she also didn't think she would be able to sleep without him tonight, and she was sure Neji wouldn't let him get destroyed.

"He'll be okay in there?" she asked as he led her into the kitchen. She placed Dodgers on the counter, and he pulled out a stool for her to sit at while he took the food from the oven.

"He will be fine, Poppet. Just think of it as him visiting a sauna. He will come out feeling fresh and revived. Now, you wait here while I put him in to dry. Then we can eat dinner together. Okay?"

Tenten nodded, feeling strangely calm. Who would have thought Neji would make her feel so relaxed? She never would have guessed that the serious, dominant man would have this softer, caring side to him.

She felt shy suddenly and she gave him a small smile, nodding. "Yeah, okay." The word 'daddy' was on the tip of her tongue, but she knew she couldn't say it. Sure, she got Dom vibes from him in spades, and the way he handled Dodgers earlier, along with the way he was looking after her, made her think he would make a good daddy, but she had no idea if he was even aware of that sort of lifestyle. A strait-laced lawyer like him?

Yeah, there was no way he would want a Little girl like her.