SLEIGHPAIR SNOWBOAT: Bobby Beale (EastEnders) x Tee Taylor (The Dumping Ground) + “making gingerbread houses”
'It means a lot to me,' Tee said out of the blue, and Bobby looked up from piping icing along the top of his gingerbread house. 'You know, you doing this for me. I wouldn't've minded if you didn't want to.'
Bobby smiled, glancing between her and the icing. 'No, it's fun. And it's been years since I've done it. I think the last time was when I was about seven or eight.'
'Really?' Tee said, smiling. She had a handful of gumdrops, sticking them around the top of the chimney.
There were never any of those left when he was younger; Lucy would have snuck most of them out of the bag before they'd even started decorating. Sometimes, she'd slip him a few under the table, and he'd shove the whole lot in his mouth before his dad could see.
His heart gently ached, but he held onto the feeling. 'My mum loved it. She said it was festive family bonding. I think even Peter and Lucy enjoyed it.'
'That's really sweet,' Tee said, her smile growing. Her gaze dropped to her own gingerbread house as she switched out gumdrops for a tube of edible pink glitter. 'It reminds me of me and Johnny. Our first Christmas at the DG, Mike bought these kits, and he let all of us go crazy with them. It became sort of a tradition. Every year, me and Johnny would build one together.'
He recognised the bittersweet tone of her voice. She still hadn't heard from him. He knew how much Johnny coming back for the holidays meant to her.
'Hey, do you know what every gingerbread house needs?' he asked, brightening. 'Gingerbread people to live in them. I'm sure the Minute Mart should have some plain ones we could decorate.'
Tee sniffled, her eyes shiny as she nodded. Even so, she was smiling, and his fondness for her doubled in that moment as she set down her tools.
'Yeah, okay. Hey, maybe we could try and make each other as gingerbread men.' She tilted her head and rolled her eyes. 'Well, gingerbread lady for me, obviously.'
'Obviously,' he chuckled.
She pulled on her jacket and scarf. When they were ready to go, she took his hand and slipped them both into her jacket pocket. He didn't bother to point out that they could just put on some gloves, his heart and hand both warming.