Prompt: Soldier verse, Regina asks David to escort her to the altar. David is surprised because he thought that Regina would walk alone.
Regina sat down across from David in the mess tent, digging into the chicken they were serving that day. "The vegetables look better today," she said.
He nodded. "I think they got a fresh batch."
"Thank goodness," she said. She fiddled with her fork for a moment, taking a deep breath to broach a certain subject. "I was hoping to talk to you about my wedding."
"Not the usual conversation you hear around an army mess," he joked.
She gave him a pointed look. "I remember having a lot of conversations about your wedding to Mary Margaret."
"You were the maid of honor," he pointed out.
"You're a groomsman!"
"We both know that's not the same." David crossed his arms as he leaned back.
Regina bit back her groan as she knew he had her. Still, that did provide the perfect segue to what she wanted to talk to him about. Her father had died while she was in high school and her relationship with her mother was nonexistent at best. There had been many things on her mind regarding her wedding but this one thing had a solution that had hit her so hard, she almost fell out of her bunk.
"Actually, I was wondering if you would be willing to take on one more role at the wedding," she started.
He tilted his head. "Oh? And what's that?"
"Would you walk me down the aisle?" she asked, her stomach clenching from her nerves.
When David didn't say anything, she continued in a rushed manner: "It's just that there really is no one else to walk me down the aisle except for maybe one uncle who has sent me a Christmas card every year and a birthday card every so often. But that just doesn't feel right. It's okay if you don't want to, I just thought…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said, reaching out his hand to stop her. "I didn't refuse. I just was surprised. Given how independent you are, I thought you would just walk down the aisle by yourself."
Regina had considered it and she shrugged. "I know. But there are some traditions I do like and I want to go down the aisle toward Robin on the arm of my family."
"You consider me family?" David gave her a goofy grin and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wanted to remain sincere.
She reached out and took his hand. "I do. You're like the brother I never had. Even if you didn't marry my best friend, I would still consider that. You always have my back and take care of me over here, even when I don't want it."
He squeezed her hand. "We both have each other's backs and take care of each other, whether the other wants it or not. You're my sister, Regina, and I would be honored to walk you down the aisle."
"Thank you so much," Regina replied. She then took her hand back, turning back to her dinner. "So, do you think the vegetables will still be fresh tomorrow or should we savor this while we can?"
