Chapter Text
Gov couldn't seem to get a hold of that stupid coat hanger. The one he needed to grab a clean suit from, since Florida had covered the previous one in paint. He was sweaty, his head hurt, and he really would have preferred to have a shower but he was supposed to meet with his human handler in a few minutes and he really couldn't afford to be late.
So why couldn't that thing cooperate?
At first, it just wouldn't get detached from the other coat hanger next to it and then, when Gov grabbed at it, it fell down, bringing the suit trousers with it. The Fed followed it down, kneeling in the cupboard, trying to grab at the damn thing, cursing it with enough creativity that anybody that would have heard him would have remembered he had been raised by the Northeast. The coat hanger attached itself to another one, then one more, turning the whole thing into an unbreakable knot of metal, and as Gov cursed even more, clothes started falling down, followed by the bar itself, hitting him square in the face.
Curled up in the cupboard, a bruise growing on his face, Gov was wracked by entirely silent sobs. He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket. He was late. But he couldn't get a hold of the damn thing, and he needed to be dressed. He just couldn't get himself to move, his phone kept vibrating and vibrating, and he ignored it. He had been defeated by the coat hanger. It had just been too much.
"Hey little Fed what are you doing here?"
"..."
"Why are you kneeling in tout cupboard? Did you find a new type of money to worship or something?"
"..."
"Is this a new drug you're testing out?"
That was Florida, Gov realised. Who'd found him there. He should probably answer. There was his phone too. And now humans trying to summon him. Not quite powerful to force the teleportation but it still hurt.
"Whooo,hoo, shady government man, can you hear me?"
Florida sat down next to him. Kept on talking. His voice was shrill. It hurt, quite a bit. Gov tried to move away but the cupboard was small. He couldn't quite manage it.
"Gov, are you ok?" Florida asked.
The sunshine state actually sounded a bit worried. If he'd had any control of his vocal chords right then, Gov would have chuckled.
"Oh, there's PA and New York in the corridor, I'm gonna call for help."
The door was open? Everyone could see him like that? Gov should have cared about that. But he didn't. He couldn't bring himself to. Everything was too much. He just needed to fight the summons from the humans. It was one thing for the states to see him half naked. It would be much worse if the humans did. So much worse. They would make him pay.
There were more people around him now. He tried to move away, but there were hands on him, checking him out he guessed. He curled up tighter. Tried to fight them off but his body wouldn't respond. They could do anything they wanted with him. He couldn't fight them off. And they were taking off his clothes. He didn't know what they wanted with him. There were many voices, mostly North Eastern ones, but he could also recognise Texas, and California.
His scars. They were talking about his scars. Asking who did that to him. They truly sounded worried. Got Mass over. Gov didn't think they would have bothered.
He heard Mass put two and two together. Yell about the humans as he treated some of the most recent wounds. Really there was no need. They would heal on their own well enough.
Some new clothes were put on him. Warm and very very soft. Florida was holding his hand. PA kept on talking but Gov couldn't make out what he said. His name seemed to come back a lot though, so Gov guessed he was trying to explain something to him.
New York was yelling, and swearing. It was too loud. But at least it was familiar.
His phone was ringing. Someone answered it. California? Now the Westerner was yelling too.
"He's sick. Leave him alone." Gov made out.
Oh god. They were talking to his human handlers like that? He was going to pay. The summon in his head got more painful.
Texas stepped onto his phone. Broke it. It stopped ringing.
Still, the noise around him hurt so much. It was too warm. Too warm. He said that out loud. He must have said that out loud.
"We need to get him somewhere cooler." PA said.
"Alaska's. We gotta get him to Alaska's." That was Maine.
Without the phone constantly ringing he could make out voices again.
"Someone keeps on calling him." Florida said. He was still holding his hand. Probably could feel the summons. They were getting louder.
Someone - New Jersey? - put something in his ears. He could still hear everyone but the sounds were now a little dim. Didn't hurt quite as much anymore.
"I'll take care of the summons, sha." That was Louie.
Louie was in his head.
That should have been terrifying. Gov hated it when the humans did it, and he did have a lot to hide, but Louie's presence didn't feel like that. It was soothing. Louisiana wasn't looking for any secrets. Not this time. He just chased the summons away. They stopped. He could have cried in relief. Maybe he did.
Someone was holding him. Rocking him. PA. That was PA. His voice soft, like Gov hadn't heard in centuries.
"Can you stand?" He understood in the middle of everything else.
Gov managed to shake his head. That was hard enough.
"Ok, that's ok, the Dakotas are going to carry you then, alright?" That was Cali's voice.
Nodding was beyond Gov's power again, as Louie had just left his mind, but at least he wasn't surprised when the Midwesterner twins lifted him up.
He knew where he was being taken. Alaska's they were taking him to Alaska's. Somewhere a bit cooler. PA kept on explaining.
Despite how overwhelming everything was, Florida letting go of his hand so that the Dakotas could carry him still felt like a loss.
He was in Alaska's garage now. It was blessedly cool. He could feel Louie at the edge of his mind, keeping the humans away. Other states, other he wasn't quite sure who, guarding the perimeter.
He'd never wanted them to learn about what the humans were like with him. He was so scared of what they would do. But also, he felt safe, no matter how temporarily, for the first time in far far too long. He couldn't quite believe the states were keeping him safe.
He slept.
Each time he woke up, there was someone next to him, hand on his knee, reminding him where he was. Grounding him. Arizona, Kansas, Arkansas, Rhode Island and even DC. Each time, he felt a little bit closer to the world. But he was so tired. It had been so long since he slept. He slipped back under each time.
He knew he would have so much to explain when he truly woke up. But he could feel the anger of each state on his behalf. He never would have wanted them to discover what the human did to him. But their reaction was warming his shady government man's heart. He let himself go back to sleep one last time. There would be time to talk in the morning.