It should be better than this.

3.

Lou hadn't been himself since he was dethroned, that much was obvious; it was practically tonal whiplash in how he became a shell of himself. Emotionally his temper was still there, for sure, but his pride and his arrogance were gone, replaced with something akin to apathy. His eyes were vacant, lost in thought as if he was searching for something, yet nothing ever really showed itself. Physically his hair was always messy, his clothes always dishevelled, and no matter how hard he tried to tidy up, the hair would immediately fall back into its messy state and his clothes would get dirty again within minutes of cleaning. The only thing that made him recognizable to his egocentrically perfect self was his voice, although that was hardly recognisable anymore, with how it was always monotone.

There wasn't really anyone he interacted with anymore either- no more adoring fans, no more dolls to bend at his will, no more... appreciation. It was frustrating and took quite a while before it all sunk in. Eventually he had to tell himself that he was perfectly fine being alone. Besides, Lou was a prototype designed specifically to be independent in running the institute, and such a role made him lonely anyways. So, after the initial shock wore off, he focused solely on his janitorial work, despite how disgusted it made him feel.

And now he finds himself cooperating with someone else, something he hasn't done in a while, and he has no clue he was. It was already out of character enough for him to accept the company of another doll (especially of a doll who had 'wronged' him), but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to reject the offer outright. ...Lou just summed his decision up to tiredness and nothing else.

Evening eventually transitioned over the docks they were cleaning, the sky a slightly less vibrant purple, pink and orange than usual. Thankfully for Lou, the area had been practically vacant today aside from a few stray stragglers, as most dolls were around the centre of the institute. The less judgemental stares he got, the better. The blond wearily stretched his arms, letting them limply fall to his sides before slumping beside the robot dog with his mop. The machine grunted slightly, knowing that Lou shouldn't be slacking, but was additionally too tired to do much more. Nolan, however, didn't seem to notice the two for a moment, seeming more focused on cleaning. Lou watched him in bewilderment as to why he was so determined to help, before eventually realising purple and green eyes were staring back.

"Oh, uh. Are you taking a break?" Nolan suddenly spoke up, breaking their awkward gaze by looking at the ground.

"I guess so, yeah," his speech was broken with a yawn, "Can never catch one with this mut."

The dog huffed in offence, causing Nolan to laugh lightly and shake his head.

"You must be super overworked then." The brunet added with a sympathetic smile.

"Eh, it's fine." It was not fine, that was a lie. "Gives me something to do; it's not like I have anywhere to go anyway-" He cut himself off there, accidentally reminding himself of his predicament. No, it was fine, he was fine, and there was nothing wrong with being stuck in the institute without the love of a child.

"Anyways, seems like the docks are basically done." Lou stood up swiftly, watching Nolan turn around to inspect the area. It was true; all that remained were some sailing equipment that sat against some lazily placed crates, but that had always been there for when the dolls would have sailing competitions.

The freckled doll hummed in agreement, "Yep, seems spotless!"

Upon hearing this, the robotic canine slowly stood up as well, stretching its legs across the ground before turning to Lou expectantly.

"Well, I'll leave you to your own devices." Lou started walking away, taking the two mops, bucket, and soap with him, before suddenly stopping and turning.