Maria is sitting in Toudo's lab, waiting for him to notice her. She plays a game sometimes where she'll sneak in, quiet as a kitten, sit in the corner of his lab with a book and see how long it takes before he realizes she's there. Last time it was four hours.
She brings him meals, occasionally. She used to watch the clock carefully, make sure he had a proper breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now she doesn't bother. She cooks a meal when she thinks of it. She doesn't even bother to cook decent food anymore. He doesn't notice.
Toudo looks up now, and he stares at her for a long time. He doesn't look very good, a bit pale, a bit ragged.
"What?" Maria asks, softly, wondering what science babble he'll want her to listen to now.
He says at last, "I have an idea …."