Maybe this was idiotic, but I didn't care. After the second time Harry had solved a millennium problem, I had baked him a cake. Now, having done it a third time, I felt it was only appropriate to continue the tradition.

Standing in the supermarket a few days later, I was walking up and down the baking aisle with my cart, pulling down everything I needed. As usual, Harry had no idea what was coming, but I had secured the kitchen from Jean tonight, giving both him and Giselle the evening off. I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind that.

He didn't seem to mind all that much the last time, at least.

Grinning to myself, I was looking for the right color of sprinkles, when I suddenly heard a feeble voice behind me.

"E-excuse me?" An elderly lady piped up behind me with a thin, raspy voice.

Turning, I found a small old lady, almost completely hunched over her walker, looking up at me with a frail smile. She had a small net of tinned pineapples and a bag of sugar in the compartment of her walker, but her little shaky hand was reaching towards something on one of the higher shelves.

"Would you mind..." She pointed shakily towards a bag of flour. "It's a bit heavy..."

"Oh, of course!" I immediately got the heavy bag of flour down from the high shelf, bringing it to her. "Is this the one you wanted?"

"Oh, thank you, dear," She smiled, patting the bag. "Yes, that's the one."

"I'll just put it right here for you," I told, popping it into her net right next to the tinned pineapple. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Oh, no, thank you so much. That's very kind of you," She croaked warmly, before then trudging on with her walker at the slowest pace known to man.

I smiled after her, seeing her unfold something from her hand—a small scrap of paper, it looked like. With a little mumble, she read the note to herself while occasionally glancing up at the shelves with squinted eyes.

How in the world was she going to carry all those groceries home herself?

Biting my lip, I looked into my own cart, seeing all my ingredients almost there. I just needed the sprinkles.

Grabbing a random can of sprinkles, I quickly tossed it into my cart and then wheeled after the old lady, coming up beside her.

"You know, I'm baking a cake later," I said casually, as if I was just making conversation. The lady looked up, surprised to see me again. "I love to bake, so I'm making a chocolate cake with cream frosting. What about you? Are you baking as well?" I said, looking into her net with what looked like baking supplies.

"Oh, I try to," She wheezed with a little smile. "I used to make these... pineapple biscuits my husband used to love... our anniversary is this week, and I thought I might... well, he's gone now, but I thought I might make them anyway."

Why did old people always make me wanna cry and hug them?

"That sounds so lovely," I smiled lovingly. "I'm sure he would've appreciated it a lot. How long were you together?"

"61 years," She smiled, her whole face lighting up at the talk of her late husband. "He died last year. High school sweethearts. He asked me to the spring dance of... 1957, I think it was. Oh, yes. He wore this big silly suit in the most horrendous blue color."

"Oh no," I grinned, shaking my head as the old lady chuckled. "And you still went with him?"

"Well, he was quite the dancer, so I thought I'd give him a chance," She chuckled. "He took me dancing every year on that same day ever since. His favorite song was Tony Bennett's 'All The Things You Are'."

I was absolutely not gonna cry in the middle of the grocery store.

"He sounds amazing," I swallowed to hide the emotional lump in my throat.

"Oh, he had his moments," She smiled with a silly little chuckle.

We continued to walk down the aisle for another moment, and in that short silence, I knew I couldn't stop what I was about to say.

"You know, I never introduced myself," I said, taking a breath and offering a bright smile. "I'm Cassandra."

"It's lovely to meet you, Cassandra. I'm Elenor," She smiled back.

"Well, Elenor, I know this sounds weird, but... would you mind if I helped you bake today?" I asked nervously, hoping she didn't think I sounded crazy. "You see, I don't have much else on my schedule today, and I thought maybe, since we are both going to bake... we might help each other out?"

Elenor looked up surprised, blinking a few times. But then, giving me a wrinkly old smile, I saw her face light up. "Well, I wouldn't mind that. That sounds very nice."

"Really? Oh, thank you so much," I grinned, feeling a sudden excited burst in my stomach. "I could use your help on making this cake, and I'm sure you got a tip or two up those sleeves."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Elenor chuckled modestly. "These days, I'm lucky to remember where I keep my spoons..."

"Well, then I'll help you with those if you help me with this cake," I promised. "Sounds fair?"

"Yes, I think that sounds nice." Elenor chuckled quietly.

And with that, I had suddenly altered my plans for the day, and yet I couldn't see how they turned out any less successful than I planned.

~~~

Many hours later, I was back at Harry's place, putting the last touches on the chocolate cake Elenor had helped me bake. We had started with her pineapple biscuits, which turned out to be lovely little, almost scone-like biscuits with bits of pineapple on top. They tasted absolutely delicious, and Elenor had even been kind enough to share the recipe with me. After our baking session, I had promised I'd return to her house in a few days, to help take her to the cemetery to visit her late husband. It had been such an incredible day, and it wasn't over yet.

Hearing the front door go, I hid an excited grin and quickly picked up my cake stand, already hearing Harry call out.

"Jean, Giselle?"

Pushing the kitchen door open, I walked out with my cake and quickly caught Harry's eye. His gaze dropped to the cake, and after only a second's glance, I saw his lips slowly twitch upwards. Then, sighing deeply, he began to remove his overcoat and scarf. "I'm scared to ask how Jean's blender is doing."

"Oh hush, we are besties by now," I joked, coming closer as he hung up his things.

"I take it then we're alone tonight?" Harry questioned, his eyes briefly drifting back to the empty kitchen behind me.

"I thought you'd appreciate the privacy for one evening," I mused, holding up the cake. "After all, we both know how... messy things can get when cake is involved."

Harry chuckled quietly, shaking his head, but then stepped closer towards me and moved his lips down to mine. "If memory serves me, you had a very efficient cleaning method."

Oh, yes indeed.

I couldn't help but smirk proudly when he then leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to my mouth. His hand sought behind my neck and gently pulled me closer, whilst I did nothing but try and focus on not dropping the cake. Harry's lips made that a very hard task.

After a moment, Harry then pulled back an inch, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Sounds like you had a very productive day, though," He noted, eyeing my cake.

"I actually did," I replied, watching him straighten out to grab his suitcase. "I met a nice old lady named Elenor today whilst shopping for this." I bobbed the cake in the air. "We spent the entire day baking and talking about her amazing life. You can thank her for the brilliant icing, by the way."

Harry lifted a brow, but didn't comment. Instead, he merely smiled and followed me as I began heading up the stairs, cake in hand. "I see."

"Yeah, she was really sweet. She had all these amazing tips on how to get the icing straight and how to get the batter to get just the right kind of spongey texture. She also gave me the recipe for this amazing pineapple biscuit she used to make for her late husband."

"Sounded like you two really bonded," Harry noted with a smile in his voice.

"We did," I replied, setting down the cake on his little coffee table once we reached his room. "She lived an amazing life with this man, and now she's just all alone. All her children are old as well, her grandchildren live out of state and are busy with their own lives. So I told her I didn't mind coming to help out once in a while, you know, if she ever needed some assistance."

"That was very kind of you to offer," Harry replied, wrapping his arms around me from behind as I stood up. I couldn't help but smile and let my eyes fall shut when he softly kissed me up my neck. "What made you suddenly want to help a strange old lady out?"

"Well," I hummed, slowly turning around in his arms and wrapping my own around his neck. "I did tell her I have loads of experience with... senior care," I smirked teasingly, running one hand down his chest, all the way down to his belt.

"Very funny," He dryly commented, before pulling me against him. "You should be careful that mouth doesn't get you into trouble."

Professor Devon... that's exactly what I hoped you'd say.

"If it did..." I whispered, rubbing my palm against his now growing bulge, feeling him harden through his trousers. "Would you spank me for it?"

"Cassandra," Harry warned in that deep voice. His eyes darkened and the look inside them made my insides twist and squirm in anticipation.

"So that's a yes?" I tried teasingly, seeing him lean down and hover his lips over mine in a warning manner. "Should I get the bag of peas?"

With a low, almost frustrated rumble, Harry's mouth dived down on mine, taking my lips in a brutal kiss. It surprised me, causing me to quickly grip his lapels when he moved with surprising roughness, pulling me closer by the hip. Had I finally broken the gentleman in him?

Kissing me thoroughly, letting his tongue dip out to taste me, I moaned wantonly and struggled to find air. His mouth was punishing, yet I sensed the softness hiding beneath, digging out under the urgency. I couldn't help but smile against his lips, enjoying as his pulled me closer and kissed me harder.

Oh, yeah. I was definitely pushing his buttons.

"One day," He then surprised me by suddenly pulling an inch away, breathing hard against my lips, "One day, this mouth is going to give me gray hairs."

"Pretty sure you already have those," I breathed back, unable to stop the smile tugging at my lips. "Want me to count them?"

"That's it." Harry's voice hardened, and for a moment, I thought he had had enough of my "old" jokes.

The next second though, Harry suddenly bent down and picked me up by the waist. In a single, yet impressive toss, he threw me over his shoulder, lifting me with easy. "Oh my God, Harry!"

"I think it's due time you learn some respect, Miss Berry," He told, now moving towards the bed, me still dangling over his shoulder. My pussy clenched at his words, knowing exactly what this meant.

Payback was a bitch, but something told me I wouldn't mind being Harry's.

"You mean like respecting your elders?" I still teased, but then let out a loud yelp when he once against surprised me by throwing me back down, tossing me onto his bed. "Harry!"

"That'll be Professor Devon to you, Miss Berry. And for the next half hour, I require your full attention."

By all that was sacred and wet, I stared speechlessly as he then slowly undid his tie, watching me like someone who was about be taught a major lesson in insubordination.

My cake was so going to go to waste.

But something told me there would still be eating going on in this room.

~~~

"What are you thinking about?"

A few hours later, we laid in bed, cuddled together. Harry was brushing my back gently, watching me rest on his chest. At least until he must've noticed the faraway look on my face.

I hadn't realized I had been so deep in thought until Harry pulled me out of it. Lifting a little smile to my lips, I met his gaze and sighed slowly. "Senior care."

Harry's eyes darkened, and with a purse of his lips, he rubbed his hand down to my sore ass, pinching the pink flesh softly. "Careful," He reminded me again.

Grinning and squirming a little, feeling the delicious ache between my legs, I couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. Especially when I hadn't even meant to try this time. "No, actual senior care," I laughed, slapping his chest playfully. Harry instantly eased and lifted his brows. "Today got me thinking a lot... I've always wanted to help people, I just never knew how or where. But after today, maybe I do."

Harry's face sobered and with a soft look, he scanned my face. "Yeah? Are you sure?"

"Not by a long shot," I grinned shortly. "But... I know this is something I'd love doing. I mean, I loved today. I know it won't be like that every day. I know I'll have to do other stuff than just bake and chat, but... yeah, I think... I think maybe senior care or senior companion could be a nice place to start."

Harry slowly lifted the corner of his lip, but then leaned down and pressed his mouth to mine. Kissing me deeply, he then exhaled and brushed my cheek. "Sounds like a good plan."

I nodded in agreement.

I knew senior care was a risky job, especially given how most patients you cared for were usually only a short road from the final destination. Growing attached to someone and watching them die was not a thing for the faint hearted, but I knew with all my heart that if I could, I'd make their last time here on earth a better, more enjoyable experience.

Because that's truly all they needed; a little more time to enjoy things. Be it baking a cake or simply having someone to talk to, to avoid loneliness... I'd be happy to provide that. Even if it meant crying my eyes out when they finally left this place, I'd know I had done everything to make their final moments... happy.

Yes. I think I may have just found my path.

With a last smile, I therefore closed my eyes and snuggled closer to Harry, who calmly kissed the top of my head, letting me know he was there for me.

– And that was all I needed in my life.

• • •

Someone to be there. That's all most people need.