Vlad adjusted the glasses currently sitting on the bridge of his nose. The optometrist told him he was supposed to wear them every time he read, but that order flew right out the window the first time Danny saw him in them.

The boy had almost thrown up from laughing so hard.

So now he only wore them when he worked late into the night, the anti-glare coating reflecting the laptop's blue glow back into the pitch dark room. He'd forgotten to turn on the desk lamp and knew it would only get him yelled at by his doctor again.

"Mlaow?"

Maddie purred, stretching and rubbing against Vlad's leg. He promised her that they would go to bed hours ago.

"Give me a moment, love," Vlad told the cat absently as he typed. "I'm almost done here."

Maddie twitched her whiskers. At this rate, it would be time to feed her again before they even slept. She watched, eyes just as sensitive as Vlad's to the bright glow of the computer screen. With no more warning than a soft trill, she leapt onto the desk.

"Maddie, I said to wait a moment!" Vlad admonished.

But the cat just snorted, stepping lightly over his arms. With a defiant look to match his glare, Maddie flopped heavily across the keyboard.