Author's note: White Eyes is going to have two side chapters, that didn't fit with the general mood of this fic. They will be posted separetely under the name 'Behind White Eyes'. The first chapter can be found over here → .net/s/7645438/1/. It's related to this chapter, but you can read it either before or after it (though I advise you to read it after this chapter). Please be aware it'll contain numerous mentions of blood, and is quite angsty.

Dave had told them he would be staying a week or two, the time for his bubble to be ready to set sail; he explained that he was forcing the encounters instead of leaving it to chance. He was looking for someone, but refused to say who it was. The two trolls visited often, even if both species had their own sleeping patterns – Dave slept way less than they did.

One night, Vriska was woken up by a queasy feeling. Still half-asleep, she decided to go out of the recuperacoon to wash her face in hopes of feeling better. But she was now longer in Tavros' respiteblock anymore. All the various furniture adorning the room - no, the room itself, had disappeared. It looked like she was in the eye of some sort of bluish whirlwind. The more she looked around her, the sicker she felt. She didn't understand what was going on. She lay against the recuperacoon to avoid fainting from the dizziness. The sound of heartbeats that weren't hers was filling her earducts, so she didn't hear it immediately. But once she did, it overshadowed everything.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

It was Tavros' voice. He kept on saying this, as if it was some sort of prayer. She immediately stood up - probably quicker than she should have in her current state - to look at him. His eyes were still closed, but his face hadn't the peaceful expression that usually came with dreams. It looked more like he was having a nightmare; muddy tears were even running down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry..."

A sob agitated his chest. Vriska started to panic, but managed to focus her spirits on helping him. She shook him first gently, but then more desperately - to no avail.

"Damn, the sopor slime is still...!"

She had to get him out of there, and wake him up. She jumped in the recuperacoon, and tried to lift him out. He was bigger than her, and the slime made everything slippery. And to top it off, it was making her feel drowsy. But she couldn't sleep, not at a time like this. She violently bit her left arm, hoping pain would keep her alert. After some more effort, she managed to free him. She immediately followed him to make sure he was okay. She crouched by his side, holding him and caressing his face, his hair. The whirlwind somewhat slowed down, and he opened his eyes with difficulty. She cradled his face with her hands.

"Tavros, are you okay–"

"I'm sorry Vriska, I'm sorry!"

She was about to ask him what he meant when he started staring at her bleeding arm.

"Don't worry, it's not–"

But he wasn't listening to her. He started crying violently, choking on his own tears. He gripped Vriska's shirt, shaking.

"I can't kill you, I can't kill you, I'm sorry"

And she understood what this was about. She gently pulled him against her, while making sure to hide her arm. She was still scared, because she had never seen him that way – even when they were still alive. She didn't know what to do to make him calm down, so she held him even tighter, and whispered soothing words in his ear.

"It's okay, you don't have to, I'm fine. I'm here, I'm here..."

She pressed her forehead against his. After what must have been the longest – and probably the scariest – minutes of her life, he finally seemed to wake up.

"Vriska?"

"Oh my god, are you okay? I was so worried...! Don't ever do that again...!"

Some blue tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?"

"You're the one who started that" she protested. "Apologizing like that..."

"You heard me? Oh... This uh, happens from time to time. I call that 'memory sickness'. I hope you won't have this problem." he said smiling weakly. "Thanks for waking me up. That dream was the worst, having to remember that is uh..."

He didn't finish his sentence, hugging her instead.

"It's just a memory now. You're here" he said, as if to reassure himself.

Vriska wiped away her tears and kissed him softly.

"Yes I am. And I'll kick you out of this recuperacoon every time you have bad dreams. I will even wake you up with a kiss." she smiled.

He chuckled.

"Thank you. If it ever happens to you, I'll do the same. I'll carry you in my arms and all" he grinned.

She chortled, planted a kiss on his lips, and nuzzled against him. They lay on the floor, completely still, her head on his chest. Tavros was somewhat dozing off at moments.

"Ah, I don't mind staying there, but maybe you want me to go sleep? You look tired." she inquired, sitting up.

He gently pulled her back against him.

"Here is fine."

The following days, Dave came over several times to chill at Tavros' hive. He was initiated to Fiduspawn by the two trolls and, despite some reluctance at first ("what the hell is that game?"), he ended up playing along, enjoying it even. The game had been particularly fierce that night, so much that even after Dave absconded, Vriska and Tavros kept on playing – they had decided the winner would get to give an order to the loser, so obviously they both wanted to win.

In the end, sleep won, as they just fell asleep on the couch.

Had he not been so sleepy, Tavros would have certainly felt like troll P. Diddy when he woke up in the morning. But he wasn't able to go brush his teeth with anything because he was weighed down by something. He begrudgingly opened his eyes to find out that Vriska was laying on him, nuzzled against him as if he was the cuddliest plush toy ever.

A small cry of surprise escaped his mouth, waking her up. She moaned lazily, her body slightly shuddering as her muscles woke up from their slumber.

"Hey there." she smiled, her eyes half-closed.

"Uh hi V-Vriska" he stuttered, his face increasingly brown. "You're uh on t-t-top of me."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious."

"No, I mean, your ch-chest is right against my t-torso…"

"Sure seems that way" she mused, not moving an inch.

"And your th-th-thighs are rubbing against m-my–"

"I know."

Her voice was calm, but the blushing of her face betrayed how nervous she actually was.

"Is that a problem?"

He swallowed his saliva.

"No." he bashfully replied.

"Thought so." she smiled, leaning in to kiss him.

Tavros could feel the heat emanating from her face, and he knew she was as apprehensive as he was, if not more. He slid his arms around her waist to reassure her, and he felt she relaxed a little bit – the way they were, they could feel even the slightest movement of the other's muscles. As for him, his whole body relaxed as well, except for a certain area. Whoops. His cheeks were nearly set on fire by that realization, because he knew Vriska had felt it as well. He hesitantly looked at her, only to find her so blue that it was impossible to guess that her skin was supposed to be grey. She closed her eyes, as if ignoring it would make it go away.

"Vriska, are you ok–"

"Shut up, I've won the game last night so I do what I want...! I can handle this, okay?" she nearly shrieked, more to convince herself than him. He cracked a smile, gently caressing her back.

"I'm sure you can."

She buried her face in his neck, no longer pretending she wasn't embarrassed to death (it was a good thing death wasn't a problem anymore).

"Why am I so nervous then? This is stupid! And I'm stupid for doing that!"

"Then we're both stupid" he smiled, pecking her cheek.

Her mouth contorted into an embarrassed expression. After some minutes, she whispered in his ear.

"First one to undress wins."

Even though this game had only winners, they were both more than eager to win.