The wind howled as it whipped down the ice-encrusted street. The clouds obscuring the moon, the only light came from the street lamps. Well after midnight, but before sunrise, there was no one out on the street except one lone figure. Dressed in many layers of coats, with a scarf wrapped around her head, she picked her way slowly down the sidewalk.

Blake coughed violently, pausing so she wouldn't slip on the slick ground. Constant exposure to the cold and lack of sleep was taking a massive toll on her, it didn't help that she hadn't had a reliable place to stay in months. Homeless and unemployed, she had to stay up during the night moving around to avoid freezing in the coldest winter Vale had ever seen.

As she started again, she looked at all the apartments and businesses on the street she walked down. It was just past Christmas, but before New Year's Day. Though, the only reason she knew that was the change in decorations on the streets. She hadn't needed to know the exact date in quite some time. All the people asleep right now were nice and cozy in their beds, surrounded by family and loved ones, completely uncaring about her plight.

Looking up, she saw something unusual. One of the shops on the street had its lights on, the warm light streaming onto the sidewalk and road. Approaching the large glass window, she noticed the design of a large twisting golden dragon with the words 'Sun Dragon Bakery' written underneath in stylized cursive. A fresh set of footprints lead up to the door.

Coming to a stop in front the door, she slowly raised her hand to knock. Bakers were always up early, making sure they had plenty of fresh goods for their earliest customers. Maybe whomever was inside would take pity on her and let her enjoy a few minutes of warmth.

No. Assuming she was even let in, the baker would surely kick her out as soon as they found out that she was a faunus. Being homeless was already hard enough without the extra prejudice that came from having an animal trait which, in her case, was a pair of black feline ears.

Lowering her hand, she doubled over as a coughing fit wracked her body. Bracing herself against the door so she wouldn't fall onto the ice covered concrete, she let out a small squeal as the door gave way and she tumbled into the warm bakery.

Waiting silently, she breathed out a sigh of relief when no one came to investigate. While she was loath to steal anything, if the baker was distracted, there was a possibility she could grab some food. No, that wasn't fair. She shouldn't taint someone else's fortune with her own misfortune. Still, would a few missing pieces really hurt anyone?

While she sat on the ground deciding on her plan of action, heavy footsteps padded away from her and, by the sound of it, went up a flight of stairs. Soon after, the faint sound of shower filtered down into the bakery. If she was going to steal something, this would be her best chance.

Scrambling to her feet, the faunus made her way around the bar that extended from one wall and back into the kitchen. So used to the bitter cold, the heat from the baking area was almost unbearable to Blake.

The brightly lit room was almost unnaturally clean, except the island, which had multiple trays of dough rising surrounded by a thin layer of flour. One side of the kitchen was almost completely covered by ovens and a stove top, while the other had cabinets, shelving, and a large refrigerator. The back wall was what interested her most. Several containers of already baked goods, likely from the day before, sat on the countertops.

Quickly stealing across the room, she came up to the goods. Picking up her first loaf of bread, she gave it a ginger squeeze. While not fresh, the bread was still good. She could easily fit it, as well as several others, under her coats and hopefully escape before she was discovered.

"You know what they say about curiosity, right?" A smooth and playful voice called out from behind her.

Blake yelped with surprise and dropped the loaf of bread back onto the counter. Whirling around, she saw a woman about her age standing in the doorway to the kitchen with one hand on her hip. The woman, who Blake assumed was probably the baker, was at least a few inches taller than herself, with a huge mess of, still damp, blonde hair that reached down to her waist. Dressed in loose pants and an apron, the woman's tank top left her well-toned arms bare.

"I-I… I'm sorry!" Blake croaked out, her voice hoarse from coughing. She realized she was probably in a lot of trouble. Not only would the baker call the police, but the woman looked strong enough to easily detain her until they arrived. Slowly starting to back away, she unwillingly paused as the woman left out the most beautiful laugh she had ever heard.

"Don't worry, you aren't in any trouble, yet." As the blonde began walking towards her, she tried to take another step back, bumping into the counters in the process. While the woman's tone was friendly enough, it was possible she was just trying to trick her. It wouldn't be the first time someone pretended to be nice to gain her trust.

The blonde must have realized she spooked Blake. Stopping in her tracks, she gestured at the dropped bread.

"You'll only be in trouble if you don't eat that." Turning to the stove top, the woman started pulling out various cooking implements. "There's butter in the cabinet, and jam in the fridge. Take as much as you need."

Still wary of the blonde, Blake waited until the tall woman was engrossed with her stove, before trying her luck. Slowly creeping forward she silently edged behind the other woman's back. Her heart raced as she approached the door, only a few more steps and she would be free.

"Stop."

She gasped as a firm grasp encircled her wrist. The blonde spun her around so they were face to face. "You aren't leaving until you eat that bread. That's what you wanted wasn't it? A warm place to sit for a second and some food?"

Pulled face to face with the blonde, Blake realized how beautiful the other woman was. The baker's skin was smooth and pale, except around her eyes, where small creases showed how often the blonde smiled and laughed. The eyes themselves, Blake thought could be a work of art. The vibrant lilac orbs were full of joy and happiness.

The woman seemed to exude an aura of warmth and comfort. Her own heart stuttering at the taller woman's proximity, she could only nod in response as she stared into the baker's eyes. Feeling the hand around her wrist slip into her own, she let herself be led to a spot on the far side of the island where the blonde pulled out a stool for her.

Sitting down, she stared at the table in front of her. Despite every instinct telling her not to, she finally relaxed. While she still didn't know the taller girl's motives, she felt secure enough that the baker meant her no ill will. A twinge of sadness hit Blake as the blonde moved away, taking her unnatural warmth with her. She returned shortly, placing the bread, a tray of butter, and a jar of strawberry jam by the bread.

"Thank you?" Blake whispered out, still unsure.

"No problem." The baker chirped back. "Take as long as you would like. You look hungry and it is too cold to be outside right now."

With her anxiety dying down, Blake felt her hunger return in full force. Biting eagerly into the bread, not bothering to tear it or dress it with anything, she wolfed the first half of the loaf in record time. She didn't stop until she heard the melodic laughter from behind her again.

"Slow down… uh… miss…" The blonde trailed off, obviously waiting for her to reveal her name.

"I'm… no one." Despite the blonde's current generosity, there was no telling what she would do with Blake's name if she knew it. She decided it was best not to say anything.

"That's alright if you don't want to tell me." The baker didn't miss a beat and flashed a playful grin in her direction. "Anyways, there is plenty for you if you need another loaf."

"I couldn't, you've already been too-"

"I insist." The taller woman dumped the contents of the pans she had been cooking with onto two plates. Setting one of them down in front of Blake, she walked around to the other side of the island with the other. Blake looked down astonished, the plate was piled high with steaming hot scrambled eggs and sausage.

The blonde sat across from her with her own plate of eggs and sausage, and tore off a piece of the loaf Blake had been eating from, smothering it with butter.

"You must be hot in all those layers." The blonde spoke through her mouthful of bread.

While Blake had originally enjoyed the heat of the kitchen, it was now starting to overwhelm her and make her sweat. Nodding in agreement she began to unbutton her top coat.

Slowly shedding layers, she finally found some reprieve from the stifling heat of the kitchen. Giving a sigh of relief, she froze when she heard a gasp from the other side of the table.

Without even realizing it she had pulled the scarf off her head revealing her black cat ears.

"You're a faunus?" the blonde looked at her with an odd look on her face.

Blake tensed up and slowly reached for her coats in case the baker reacted negatively. While the blonde had been nothing but polite and generous so far, most people at least shunned her, while others mocked or even attacked.

"You're so cute!" The tall woman's entire face lit up in a gigantic smile.

"Uh." She definitely wasn't expecting that. "Thanks?"

"Your'e welcome." The blonde dropped back to a more serious tone and continued eating her food. Slowly returning to her own, she mulled over the blonde's reaction in her head until she felt too stuffed to continue. Despite the friendliness shown to her, she didn't want to overstay her welcome any longer.

"Thank you for the food." Blake dipped her head in a small bow. "I'll leave now, the sun should come up soon and it won't be so cold and I can find a place to rest."

"Nope." The blonde replied popping the 'p'.

"What?"

"That's not all you needed."

"You've been so generous, I just…"

"You need more than just some food. When's the last time you've had a shower?"

"About…" Blake racked her brain. When was the last time she was even allowed into a shelter? Since they found out she was a faunus she had been solely on the streets.

"Too long, apparently." The blonde grabbed her hand and started pulling her out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Realizing it was futile to resist the taller girl's oddly demanding kindness, she followed her to the second floor of the bakery.

At the top of the staircase was a door separating the upstairs from the commercial area. As the blonde pushed the door open, it revealed a large, open living room. The two walls over the front and back of the bakery were covered in windows; the accompanying yellow and lilac curtains were pulled shut. In the middle of the room was a large, comfortable looking couch facing one of the biggest TVs she had ever seen. Tucked into a corner was a desk with a laptop. On the final wall was a single door that was half open.

Making a beeline for the door, the blonde pushed her into the room

"The bathroom is attached to my room. Leave your clothes outside the bathroom and I will throw them in the wash for you." The blonde smiled at her. Avoiding those, what Blake had decided, damnable eyes, she had no choice but to agree.

Quickly taking in the small bedroom, there wasn't much to it. A poorly made queen bed with purple and orange sheets sat in the center of the room with a closet on one side and a small dresser and nightstand with a few pictures on the other. Yellow curtains were pulled to the side of the only window.

Placing a spare towel from underneath the sink on the carpet before stripping out of her many layers, she left the dirty clothes outside the bathroom before securely locking the door behind her. Stepping into the hot shower, she relished the first touch of hot water she had felt in a long time. Focusing on scrubbing off the layers of grime and filth that had accumulated over the months, she finally saw her true skin color, almost not recognizing it.

Why was this mystery blonde doing this? She had snuck into her bakery and tried to steal food, and now she was being rewarded with all she could eat and a hot shower? It made no sense.

Intent on not using up all of the baker's hot water, she shut it off and stepped out into the steamy room. Drying thoroughly, she wrapped the towel around herself and stepped back into the bedroom where an oversized pair of black sweatpants and yellow t-shirt lay folded on the bed.

Trading her towel for the clothing, a note fell out of the folded bundle. Picking it up, it took her a little bit to read the hasty scrawl.

Hope these clothes fit you well enough. Your clothes will take awhile to wash and dry. Enjoy a nap on my bed while you wait.

With no other options left to her, she turned to the sloppily made bed. Crawling beneath the covers, she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Awakening to the the winter sunlight pouring in through the windows, Blake sat up and stretched. Looking over to the clock, she realized that she had only been asleep for a few hours. It was only 10, but she felt like she had slept for several days. Even when she had been allowed into shelters, the mattresses were worn down and lumpy. The baker's bed was possibly the most comfortable thing she had slept on in as long as she could remember.

Rolling to get out of bed she looked around for her clothing. The blonde had promised she would wash them, so she could leave. Though the more she thought about it, the less she wanted to do so. The baker was the first person in years who had shown her genuine kindness despite knowing she was a faunus. She didn't have much desire to leave now.

Her search failed to turn up her own clothes, but she did spot some other clothes sitting next to the door into the living room. A purple shirt, that judging by the length, belonged to the blonde herself, along with a belt worked as a tunic for her. However, the leggings with rose petal patterns fit her almost perfectly, ending a few centimeters below her knees. As they were slightly too short for the baker, she guessed they must have been borrowed from someone else. Finally, several pairs of flats in different sizes sat next to the clothing.

Getting dressed quickly, she made her way down the stairs. While the borrowed clothes were incredibly comfortable, they weren't warm enough for the winter weather. If she was going to leave anytime soon, she needed her coats and scarf back.

Stepping out onto the main floor, she was almost immediately overwhelmed by the number of people in the bakery itself. The blonde must have quite the reputation to draw such a crowd, even after most people were at work.

Instantly spying the baker behind the counter, the woman was a wellspring of energy and happiness. Unable to call out to her because she still didn't know her name, Blake made her way up to the counter. The blonde's energy suffused her so much with her own happiness she forgot that her ears were uncovered until she accidentally bumped into one of the many patrons of the bakery.

"Watch where you're going, you filthy faunus." The man growled at her.

Trying to avoid confrontation, Blake immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump you."

"Jeez, can't we go anywhere without there being one of these degenerates around." The man turned away from her to his friends. "It's like they think they're people."

Blake bowed her head, trying to fight back her tears as the man's friends started laughing. No one could ever see past her being a faunus except, seemingly, one particular blonde.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." A familiar voice and presence came from Blake's side, perking her up immediately.

"Or what, Yang? You'll make me?"

"Damn right, I will." The blonde first addressed the group of bullies before raising her voice for it to be heard through the entire bakery. "And anyone else who has a problem with faunus can leave as well."

While Yang was tall for a girl, the man Blake had accidentally bumped into dwarfed the blonde by almost a foot. Though, the more Blake studied the situation, she realized that he seemed almost scared of the baker.

"Fine. It's not like I want to spend time in a trash heap like this anyways." The man snorted derisively before making his way to the door, his 3 compatriots following close behind.

"Sorry about that. Are you alright, miss?" Yang gently grabbed her by the hand and towed her to the other side of the bar.

"Blake." The ravenette looked up into Yang's eyes. " My name is Blake. And thanks to you, I'm fine. The best I've been in forever."

"Good!" Yang chirped at her before shoving a broom and dustpan into her hands. "Take this and sweep under the tables as people finish."

Bewildered, but nonetheless eager to help the woman that had helped her so much she went about her task.

Soon sweeping turned into bussing, bussing turned to delivering food. And, as the day progressed, Yang even had her taking orders. More to her surprise were the customers. While most glanced or openly stared at her ears, everyone was polite. No one gave her insults, or tried to bully her.

While the work wasn't overly strenuous, the amount of time she spent on the streets in the cold had sapped her strength. So, when Yang finally flipped the sign to 'closed' in the mid afternoon, she was relieved that the day was almost done.

"Please sweep one last time while I go take a quick shower." The blonde flashed Blake another smile.

"For you, of course." As Yang disappeared, the faunus made one more clean sweep around the floor of the bakery, sweeping up all the dirt and discarded crumbs from the customers.

Satisfied with her work, she sat down at one of the bistros to wait for the baker's return. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry! I didn't overwork you did I?" Her eyes immediately flashed open as she saw Yang rush over to her.

"I'm fine, just a little tired." Blake leaned back. "Speaking of which, how do you do this everyday?"

"Normally I don't. I still take days off and all that jazz. I just gave all my employees the holidays off." The blonde leaned over and smiled at her. "Go ahead and head upstairs and take a shower. Then you can pick out a few movies while I get dinner ready?"

"W-what? You want me to stay longer?"

"Of course! I wouldn't send you away at night. Plus, you were a great help today!'

Before she could protest, Yang pulled her out of her chair and gave her a soft shove towards the stairs.

"I won't be too long. Grab some of the extra blankets from the closet and we'll have a movie night."

Making it up the stairs she immediately jumped into the shower, savoring again the feeling of the warm water as it washed over her. Deciding that she was probably spending too much time, she dried herself off and changed back into the sweats she had discarded earlier that day.

Pulling some large fluffy blankets out from the closet in Yang's room, she piled them on the couch. She had no idea where the movies might be. She had never really had a TV or movies, even when she was younger. Spying a large binder on one of the shelves under the TV she pulled it out and was rewarded with a large collection of brightly colored discs.

Slowly flipping through the pages, Blake didn't recognize any of the titles. Hopelessly lost, she stared at the discs. Maybe she could pick randomly?

"Dinner is served. I hope you picked a good movie." Yang walked through door and set two bowls down on the coffee table.

"I don't know what's good." Blake whispered out. "I've never even heard of most of these."

"Oh…" The faunus heard the baker's voice falter for the first time before recovering. "You get comfy on the couch and I'll take it from here."

Removing herself to the couch she sat on the far left side, giving the blonde free range to sit down without being in her personal space. Despite her desire to be close to the other woman, she still had no idea what Yang truly thought of her. So when Yang popped a movie into the DVD player and then wedged herself between Blake and the armrest, displacing the faunus by a few dozen centimeters, she was taken by surprise.

"You were in my spot." Yang flashed a quick wink and pressed play.

"I didn't mean to. I can move over if you'd like."

"Nope." Yang popped the 'p'.

Relishing the proximity between the two of them, Blake tried to pay attention to the movie, some animated film about two sisters and an icy heart, but the blonde's presence kept drawing her attention like a lodestone.

Seeking the comfort of her companion, Blake pulled up her legs onto the couch and slowly rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. Feeling no resistance, she snaked her arms around Yang's arms, continuing to watch the movie in silence. Though it wasn't long until drowsiness started to overtake her.

As she started to slip into sleep she felt Yang's arms encircle her, pulling her head down onto the baker's lap. The last thing she remembered was the warmth from her new friend surrounding her, giving her the most peace she had ever felt.

Poor Blake. At least she found someone to take care of her, even though Yang seems oddly commanding.
A few days later than the Holidays this takes place during, but hopefully you'll forgive me.
There will be at least one more part to this, so please follow, fav, or review and let me know what you thought!
-Added a few small edits made by Tumbleweed