Requested by: callsign_ice
Backed by: @cara_djarin

I will be using callsign_ice's OC, Catalina, from her Bob book in this one shot! Check out her book, "Heaven"! I'll link it in the comments!

✯ General Info ✯

Synopsis: Catalina Bradshaw, the sister of Bradley Bradshaw, is a hopeful artist who is married to Bob Floyd. After a mission, she decides to sketch a portrait of Bob in honor of their marriage.
Warnings: None
Length: 1835 Words (LONG)

✯ Art ✯

The sky was all she could think about as she flew back towards the aircraft carrier. The way it swirled, the pretty hues of blue and white, and how the clouds were fluffy. Ideas floated in her mind about what she could draw when she landed. She could picture it now— a dark blue sky with pink undertones littered with little wisps of clouds.

"Hey, Cat? We are getting close to the runway, shouldn't you level out and release your landing gear?" Her husband Bob's voice rang out through the comm. She slightly shook her head, ridding her mind of the thoughts of the sketch.

"Yes, sorry about that. I was just lost in-" she paused. An idea struck her. She lowered the landing gear and steadied the plane while she spoke to Bob.

"How about I make drawing of you? We just got married, after all! It would be a nice addition to the wall of art we have," Catalina offered to him.

She couldn't see it, but he was blushing furiously. He trembled slightly with excitement.

"Sure! I wouldn't mind that," Bob responded with a wide smile.

Catalina successfully landed the plane and they got out, walking into the hangar. She took her sketchbook and easel from the shelves. She always keeps them there before a flight in case some kind of inspiration strikes her, just like now.

A flurry of ideas entered her mind. She could sketch him while he stood along the wall with a fierce pose... or he could lean against the door nonchalantly...

She settled on him standing on the right of the hangar, but he has one hand on his hip and is looking up at nothing in particular. She carefully calculated where he could look so he would not be staring right at the sun while she sketched.

The idea behind the pose was that if she could do it at just the right moment, one of the F/A-18 Superhornets could take off in the background, making for a great shot. She has been up close with them, but never enough to get a decent side view. Once the plane takes off, she could make it look like Bob was looking right at the plane as it flew away.

She set up her easel and sketchbook, then walked over to Bob. She got close to him and adjusted the collar of his flight suit and then his sleeves, rolling them up slightly. Her final touch was a slight swipe of his hair to make it neat again after the helmet messed it up. He blushed but leaned into her touch to make it easier for her to work.

Little did both of them know, Maverick was watching the whole thing from the door of the hangar. He thought it was so cute to see Catalina and Bob together.

"Bobby, would it be alright if you stood here?" She stepped towards the right side of the hangar. He nodded and stood in the spot where her foot was.

"I want you to put one hand on your hip and pretend you are looking up at nothing in particular," she demonstrated the pose. He followed, looking upwards.

"If it helps, look towards the side of the hangar so you won't be even more blind," she teased him.

"Thanks a lot," he said sarcastically, but followed her instructions. It made it much easier to see and to hold his pose. Catalina nodded at him and smiled, going back over to where her easel sat. Maverick quickly hid behind the door, making sure he wasn't seen. Cat opened her sketchbook to the nearest blank page and began a rough sketch. She checked her watch to make sure she had plenty of time before the next launch.

Bob was trembling while trying to hold his pose. He was excited to see how the sketch would turn out. His wife had amazing drawings but he could never sit still while being drawn. He began to violently shake with excitement.

"Bob? Is everything okay?" Catalina asked from her spot.

"Yeah... just excited!" His glasses flashed.

"Can you try to calm down a little? It's a bit hard to get a rough sketch," she asked him.

"I'll try!" He called back.

Catalina was not ashamed to admit that she could draw his side profile every day. It's a good thing that he didn't look in her sketchbook, since she has many sketches of his side profile on multiple pages. She found it so attractive!

Bob tried to stop shaking but couldn't. He was nervous now since she already asked him to try to calm himself down.

Catalina decided to go to him and see what was wrong. Marking the page with her pencil, she headed over to Bob.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked him, concerned.

"I'm sure, I'm just excited on how this will turn out. Your art is the best I've seen, and it's just always difficult to stand still when I know I'm being sketched," he answered.

"Aww, Bobby..." she pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. His heart raced but he stopped shaking, taking in the embrace. Once Catalina let go, he assumed his pose again and she went back to her easel, smiling.

She finished the rough sketch and smiled at it. It looked great through her eyes!

Looking at her watch, she counted down in her head. "3... 2... 1..." The sound of an F/A-18 taking off filled the hangar. Bob remained still, knowing that he could not move until Cat said it was okay to. She looked at the side of the plane taking off and blinked, saving it to her memory while she began sketching it.

Once the full rough sketch was done, she began the line art. Taking her pen out of one of the pockets of her flight suit, she began drawing along the lines. Looking at Bob again, she drew the pockets, zipper, sleeves, and collar of his flight suit, making sure to add in the finer details.

"Okay Bob, you can relax now," she called out to him. "Don't come over here yet, I'm not done!"

"Sure, honey!" Bob laughed and pulled up a chair to sit on. Cat went back over to the shelf and grabbed her bag full of colored pencils. Might as well go for the whole picture!

Bob watched her from afar, taking in her concentrated look and how she knitted her eyebrows when she approached a challenge. He saw her smile and beamed to himself, wondering how he got so lucky with her. At least Rooster approved of him.

She started adding color to the drawing, starting with Bob. Blending in the colors, she made him come to life. Recalling her memory, she filled in the F/A-18 to the best of her ability. Finally, she got to her favorite part: the sky. Taking the hues of blue she had, she mixed them together and added a dash of white for the puffy clouds. She even added a trail behind the plane to make it more realistic.

Once she was finished, she initialed it in the bottom right corner. Even though it was complete, she felt it was not. Taking the pen to the paper, she added the words "you and me forever" to it. She beamed at the completed product.

Maverick, who had been watching the whole thing go down, beamed from behind her. He enjoyed watching the drawing come to life. Now he had to wait for just... the right... moment...

"Bob, I finished the drawing! I'll come to you and reveal it," Catalina said with excitement.

"I can't wait to see it! I'm sure it's a masterpiece!" Bob blushed and smiled.

She walked over to Bob and smiled, then turned it around, revealing the finished drawing. Bob's eyes got wide while he looked it over, the tears forming. His look landed on the small message she left behind and he stood up, wanting to hug her. She held out the sketchbook with one hand and hugged him with the other.

"What's going on over here?" Maverick asked them. They broke apart and looked at him.

"My wife just drew this amazing picture!" Bob exclaimed, blushing.

"Aww, thank you Bob," she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"You know, how about I take a picture celebrating this?" Maverick offered.

"Sure!" Catalina nodded.

"Okay, do your pose and I'll take a picture!" Mav smiled and pulled out his phone.

Bob held the picture with one hand and faced Cat, putting his other arm on her waist. She put one hand on his waist too and cupped his cheek with the other, staring into his green eyes. He smiled and Cat leaned in for a kiss. He accepted it and they could hear the sound of Maverick's camera going off.

What they didn't know what was that something happened in between the time that they kissed and the camera went off. They heard the sound of rumbling, and wouldn't you know? An F/A-18 took off behind them, and Mav got the perfect shot. A deep, passionate kiss while holding up the drawing and the plane shooting off above them.

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A few days later.

Maverick walked into the local store and decided to get the picture of Catalina and Bob printed out as a newlywed gift. The store owner happily took the picture and printed it out, then Mav bought some stickers of F/A-18s and F-14 Tomcats and stuck them on a picture frame, then slid the picture in.

He carefully wrapped it and drove to their house, knocking on the door. Catalina answered it with a look of surprise.

"Maverick? What are you doing here?" She asked him, her eyes flitting to the wrapped package.

"I decided to drop off a gift for the happy couple," he said, holding it out to her.

"Oh, you didn't have to! But thank you!" Catalina smiled.

"I should go, I have some planes to fly," Maverick said.

"Be careful up there!" She said, lightly punching him.

"I never am," he laughed, waving goodbye to her.

"Who was that?" Bob asked, appearing behind her.

"It was Maverick, he dropped this off for us," she waved the package at him.

"Let's open it in the living room," he offered.

They went to the living room and sat down on the couch. Bob carefully unwrapped the paper and revealed the picture that Maverick took. His eyes filled with tears and Catalina smiled with joy.

"It's beautiful! I love the frame!" She said, running a finger along the stickers surrounding it.

She took it and put it on the wall right below the picture that she drew of Bob. Bob got up and saw the pictures, smiling at their positions. He pulled her into a kiss.

"I love you, Bob," Catalina smiled.

"I love you too, Cat," Bob hugged her tight.

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Thanks for reading!