Survival Of The Fittest

"Okay, here's what I have in mind," Nadia said.

She pointed at the car.

"Turn on the headlights so they're pointing out into the distance."

Nadia walked over to the hood of the car.

"I'll put the camera on the hood, set the timer, and then we'll get some pics of us together. I think if we're in the path of the lights, it'll create a cool effect."

"How's that sound?"

"Worth a try."

Why not, right? He wasn't sure how well it would turn out, especially if they were standing in the path of the light, but she was the one with photography experience. Their guest had vanished to rejoin its pack and Roderick turned away from the hill, sand clinging to his sneakers with every step back to the Challenger. The driver side door popped open and he leant in, sitting on the seat without bringing his legs - and the sand - into the vehicle. The switch was easily found and his headlights sprung to life, lancing into the darkness before them. His task done, he trotted back up to Nadia with a little grin after shutting the door behind him, offering her his arm.

((Minor GMing approved))

"Alright, sounds good."

Nadia moved to look at how the photo would look if she placed the camera on the hood of the car. She took her jacket off and neatly folded it into a square to give it that extra boost. She climbed down off the hood as Rod moved back to place.

"Okay, I think I got it," she said.

Nadia took Rod by the hand and led him out into the path of the headlights. She then quickly moved back to look through the camera again.

"Okay, let me take a test photo. You can keep your eyes closed."

Nadia clicked the button, taking a picture of Rod. Nadia let out a cheer when she saw the picture.

"Great. This is the spot."

Nadia moved back over to Rod. She then lowered herself, grabbed his thigh, then moved it slightly over, spreading his legs a bit.

"Okay. So I think we'll hold hands and face the lights," Nadia said. "I know it's hard to see looking directly into the lights, so keep your eyes closed until it takes the picture. The timer will let out a noise before it takes, so open them right when you hear it and try to hold them open. We'll only take one picture since I don't want to strain your eyes too much."

Nadia ran back to the car and flicked the timer on. She then hurried back to Rod and took his hand, placing herself in a similar position as him. The timer then let out a noise.

"Now!" she quickly shouted.

Nadia quickly opened her eyes as the camera took the photo. She closed her eyes again once she knew the photo was taken.

"Alright, let me check that out," she said, making her way back to the hood.

He'd done shoots with Nadia before, out here in the desert and around Kingman's streets, but never washed in the light like this and never with his eyes closed. He could feel it shining through his eyelids, turning the darkness a white not painful yet still irritatingly bright enough to make him grimace just a little. Nadia's voice and hands were his guide, as she instructed and positioned him, and his hand squeezed hers lightly when she took it. How kind of her to only want to take one picture, so he wouldn't strain his eyes.

That meant only one chance to get it right, though. One chance not to fuck up Nadia's moment. He'd worked under pressure every single time he stepped onto a wrestling mat, of course, but winning a match was less daunting a thing than having one and only one shot at his girlfriend's picture being perfect. His muscles tensed up and his breathing slowed as if he didn't dare so much as twitch while he waited for her command. Eyes remained squeezed shut through her test photo and onwards in the face of his headlights while he remained grateful the high beams weren't on.

Seconds passed like hours, while Roderick's mind conjured an imaginary referee's whistle to signal a match. It was the same tense wait. Not fear, but being a little anxious, ready to hit the ground running as soon as you heard things start off, that was good.

One.

Two...

beep

"Now!"

Roderick flung his eyes open and spears made of photons immediately stabbed through both of them and his world was bright white while he fought down the urge to blink or recoil or look startled. Dignity, always remember dignity. There was a flash somewhere in the white, and he felt Nadia relax, so he closed his eyes again and turned away to massage them with thumb and forefinger, willing the dots dancing around in the darkness to go away.

One blink, two blink, red blink, blue blink. Nothing he couldn't handle, it wasn't the nervousness and slight camera shyness of Nadia's very first shoots with him, but those few seconds had not been comfortable. He stepped away from the headlights' piercing gaze as Nadia said she was going to check the picture out and prayed he hadn't messed it up.

When normal vision returned, he looked back to the car and his eyes followed her, tracing over her curves and lingering on her backside as she fiddled with her camera. He gave her a few moments to look things over with her trained eyes, then trotted over with hands in pockets, trying to peek past her shoulder.

"How'd it look?"

(GMing approved)

Nadia looked at the picture on the camera. It was kind of cool, almost like she and Rod were being abducted by aliens or something. It was definitely something she would play with when she got home.

"Looks good," she said to Rod. "The next one won't strain your eyes as much. Okay, so turn to your side. We're going to hug for this next one. Kind of like that Woodstock picture. You can keep your eyes closed the whole time."

Nadia set the timer, then quickly ran over to Rod. She threw her arms around his torso and laid her head against his chest. She kept her eyes closed, but her head facing towards the car. She could feel the warmth radiating off his chest and could swear she might have heard his heartbeat if that wasn't the rumbling of his car. In a few seconds, she heard the beeping sound of the camera, and then she knew the picture was taken.

But even she was fine staying in this embrace for a few seconds more.

He barely even saw them when he peeked at the photo, two silhouettes wreathed in white light with the black of the sky and red of the earth just faintly visible on the edges. Were they going into the light, or coming out of it? It worked either way. Going in or coming out, they were going together and that was the important bit. At least Nadia liked it, and with the light he couldn't see how he'd fought not to flinch or blink.

If it was good enough for her, it worked for him. She was the photographer, and as long as she was happy he'd be all right. She barely left time for her words to enter his ears before turning and running his way, catching him mid-step. With a little exhale, he placed his foot back on the ground and balanced himself while his arms wrapped around her. The world was her nestling her head on the upper part of his chest towards his collarbone, the softness of her body against his, the heat from her skin and her breath, the way her hair tickled him and moved with the air flowing in and out of his lungs.

Somewhere infinitely far away, her camera beeped and went off. He didn't bother to acknowledge it. This could keep going for as long as she wanted to, all night if part of him had its way. School, college, wrestling, photography, what was any of that next to the two of them right now?

The couple in that Woodstock photo she mentioned, tried to emulate, was still together. He remembered her mentioning that once. Would they be, when this photo was as old as the Woodstock photo was now? He hoped so, right now, but who could tell the future? Even though lately any time he dreamed of taking the gold in Tokyo, five years in the future, those dreams included her watching him in the stands.

He kept holding her and didn't bother counting the seconds. When the embrace had gone on for a while, he slowly, tenderly pressed his lips against the top of her head. Just for a second, softly enough it could almost be mistaken for a breeze.

This time he didn't need to ask how the picture turned out.

Nadia remained in place, listening to the rumble of the car and feeling the warmth radiating from Rod. She wanted to smile at all of this. Here she was, taking some of the most passionate pictures she had ever taken in her life. It was fulfilling as an artist to find a subject and a setting that moved her so much, and here it was with Rod. She felt something touch the top of her head. She wondered if it was Rod giving her an extra display of affection. She hoped it was.

After a few more seconds, Nadia finally broke free of Rod's embrace.

"Alright, I want to see this one," she said.

She quickly made her way back to the car and grabbed the camera. She clicked the preview and saw the photo of the two of them embracing. Nadia was not one for surprises, but this was one of the few times she could remember gasping from shock. She turned the camera around and flashed the picture at Rod.

"Rod, I think this is the best one of the night," she said. "I might have to blow this one up."

To say Roderick was reluctant to let Nadia go would be like saying a starving man was happy to see a hot meal in front of him. Nevertheless, they parted, reality settling back in on the edges of his consciousness after the embrace while she went over to examine her handiwork. He watched her for a few moments, then came over to her side, letting her look long and well at the preview before he glanced at it himself.

Nadia's gasp of surprise warmed his heart, and although he didn't quite see everything she did when she showed him the photo, lacking her trained eye, it was a good shot made even better by knowing how much she loved it. She wanted to blow it up and he found himself offering a firm nod of agreement.

"Make a couple copies of it, maybe send it in for publication too. This is really good."

"Yeah, after I touch it up a bit, I'm definitely sending it to Photo Vogue. God, I just want to send them so much shit now."

Nadia looked at the photo again. She would definitely have to make a larger sized print of it, and maybe send it out for publication. It was one that could really make her portfolio stand out.

Nadia looked up at Rod.

"Okay, I think we can stop here for now," she said. "I'm good on pictures, and I don't want to kill your car battery while we're in the middle of nowhere."

"I could drag it back home, worst case scenario."

That was a joke. He was strong, but probably not lift a car strong. As far as he knew though, the battery was fine and would continue to be fine for quite some time. If she thought she had enough though, she thought she had enough. For sure, they probably couldn't top the look on her face when she looked at that last photo, and the thought of her being disappointed by future attempts tasted foul to him.

His engine hummed contentedly along, and the stars continued to shine down. He allowed himself to enjoy the clear sky and the night's wind a moment longer before looking back to her.

"What next? There's still a lot of night left."

Nadia turned her camera off as Rod asked what she wanted to do next. She looked up at the night sky and smiled. It really was a wonderful night. There was a lot more of it to see.

Nadia looked back at Rod.

"Well, I think it's a nice night. How about a drive? The car's probably aired out enough, and I think there's more to see out here."

"Where to? We could drop by a 24/7 shop for supplies if you want to hit Vegas or anything."

Vegas would be nice, but then, so would just being behind the wheel for its own sake. The roar of his engine, the wind whipping around them, the freedom of the open road, all that made being out here feel worth it. There'd been long drives he'd gone on, when he had no practises or matches or off-season tournaments to worry about, where he started pulling back into town early enough in the morning the sky and all the light around him had turned a radiant electric blue. Would that happen tonight? Who could say, and who could say if Nadia or her family would be okay with her being out that long.

She was right, though. There was always more to see. He strolled over to the passenger side door and popped it open for her with a smile, stepping out of the way.

"Nah, Vegas might not be a good idea," Nadia said. "I've got some stuff to do tomorrow, and my parents might not be happy if I did that. I'm still hoping to get some graduation gifts out of them, so I'd like to stay on their good side for the next few months."

Nadia smiled as Rod opened the door for her. She slid into the car and got comfy.

"I think just driving around in the desert is fine for tonight."

That was a little disappointing, but then, she had a point. And it wasn't like tonight would be the last time they ever went out. Vegas could wait, this time, he'd seen the city before after all and if he were honest with himself the Strip was about all it had going for it. He let Nadia settle in then closed the door behind her, circling around to his own side.

The coyotes had dispersed, leaving the two of them and the Challenger under the stars. Roderick took one last glance around, asking himself once again how much he would or wouldn't miss all this sand and these stars when he left Kingman in his rearview for good, then got into the driver's seat. The engine continued to hum and there was a pleasant chill sinking through his skin as he buckled in, made a last check to make sure everything was in order, then threw the car in drive and headed for the nearest road.

((Roderick Kanuho continued in Meanwhile))

Nadia peacefully exhaled as Rod got into the car. It had been a wonderful evening, and now it was going to continue on with her and Rod riding around admiring the evening desert. Maybe she could take some pictures as they drove through the desert if she rolled down the window. She almost couldn't believe how elated she had been. She got a photo published on a website she admired, and she was in a romantic high.

In a way, this had been the happiest she had been in a long time.

As they drove off into the desert, Nadia looked out the window at the scenery around her. She wouldn't miss Kingman, but she would miss this view. Nadia didn't think she'd feel so nostalgic, but maybe this was all a part of growing up. She was a woman now, and she'd be leaving to start her life. It was exciting, scary, and unreal all mixed together.

Nadia let out another sigh as they continued to drive. She was going to enjoy this for as long as she could.

((Nadia Riva continued in V6))