There were things IDC expected when DC came back to Washington for work.

Six things to be exact.

Number one was sticky notes.

IDC would always expect DC to open his bag back in her apartment and a bunch of sticky notes to fall out. They all had messy handwriting on them, barely legible, and it seemed a bit of overkill for DC just being in the state for four days.

She knew they were from Florida and they all varied if you looked at them from start to finish. IDC saw one on her fridge that said 'you look cute today' and another on DC's desk at his office that said 'have a good day :)'. She also read outloud 'your butt looks good today ;)' when she found it on her brother's nightstand in the guestroom that made DC's entire face blush, and 'bring me back some chocolate' sticking in DC's wallet whenever he took it out.

But there were always two that DC kept in his planner that IDC was always curious about. If they were sitting in meetings and DC looked like he was feeling upset, IDC would see him flip open his planner, read the sticky note, then sit up straighter, ready to contribute to the conversation. She didn't mean to pry, but in her defense the planner had been left open while her brother was out of the room and she was looking for the papers that had been promised to her. The two sticky notes stood out among the grayness of the planner.

'You're worth more then the damn lot of them put together'

'Remember you're the United States Government, they listen to you'

IDC didn't even know Florida had that level of self-awareness.

The second thing was food. Lots of food.

"Y'know I have bread, Louisiana knows I have food so you can make your lunches right?" IDC asked as her brother loaded her fridge with leftovers.

"Loui's convinced it's not enough though." DC admitted with a soft smile, and that was it. IDC was convinced the southern state didn't know how to do math because he always sent DC with more containers of food then he was staying in Washington, although she later figured it was because of her brother's appetite. Everyday for lunch DC would have something different, some of the food looked good, and some of it made IDC yearn for Europe and their cafes and restaurants. She didn't even know half the names of the stuff Louisiana sent for DC's lunches, and her brother wasn't helping.

"Just call it a roast beef sandwich." IDC begged as the government twins sat outside their office taking their lunch.

"Except it's not, it's a Po'boy." DC announced wiping his mouth.

"All those years in school, and suddenly you throw it all away for a boy." IDC teased.

"Lesse le bon temps roule." DC announced laughing as a napkin got thrown in his face. It annoyed IDC to death when DC randomly switched to his Cajun slang, especially after asking the English ambassador "how's your mama an' them" accidentally (his face though, when he realized what he said, priceless).

IDC was grateful Louisiana was keeping her brother fed, with real food instead of the crap he usually ate, so she'd put up with all the random containers of food in her fridge. Even if she really wished he'd stop sending him so many seafood dishes.

The third thing was California's flannel.

IDC first noticed it first thing in the morning when DC was still dead to the world and just wanted a cup of coffee. It wasn't that cold, and the flannel looked of the heavier variety, which made IDC curious why he was wearing it.

Sometimes when they were both back at their respective offices, IDC would be going over to drop off paperwork or just chat about the senate sessions they had to sit in for the day, and see DC had draped the flannel over the back of his chair, occasionally grabbing the sleeve and giving it a rub, or give it a quick sniff. IDC assumed it was just a sensory thing, turns out the flannel belonged to California.

This also related to four, which was that Texas usually sent him with a variety of his shirts when DC came back to Washington. They were huge on DC, which made IDC scratch her head considering her brother and boyfriend looked to be about the same size. She once joked as DC if Texas was overcompensating for something but the wide-eyed look she got, and the deep blush made her realize that no he wasn't and also she had to go wash her brain with soap. DC wore Texas's shirts under his suits on days when he knew he had big meetings with some tough people, to appear stronger then he was and he wore California's flannels at night when he just wanted to wrap himself away from the world.

IDC always washed the shirts and flannel before DC went back and they always smelt of fire, the country, and deep rich cologne (Texas) and smoke and summer (California). It was definitely a comfort thing for her brother.

The last thing was a large, oversized jacket obviously stolen from New York.

IDC knew New York had all but given DC his jacket, but still let DC think he stole the jacket from him. She was lowkey grateful too; DC sometimes had to be strong-armed into wearing his jacket, so actually having a jacket he wanted to wear was good to have in Washington's unpredictable weather.

Much like Texas's shirts, New York's jacket was huge on DC and made him look smaller than he was. IDC suggested to DC to let her bring the coat in to tailor it, but DC refused even after New York revealed he had just given DC the coat. The international branch of the government figured DC liked the feeling of the giant jacket over his body, and that it felt like New York was there, snuggling him close to him.

The jacket had so many pockets, IDC didn't even know where to begin, and everytime she went to wash it before DC returned back to Florida, she found another fidget toy in multiple pockets. She yelled at DC about it before he played innocent, but after the fifth time it happened IDC suspected New York slipped the toys in the pockets before DC left so he'd always have something to stim with when things become too overwhelming.

It almost made her feel like a failure as a sister, since thanks to Massachusetts and Connecticut she had increased her arsenal of fidget toys, she even got her brother some fancy ones she got off boutique store magazines. But she knew she had to learn this wasn't a competition, and DC appreciated her efforts as well as New York's; his boyfriend just had a little more leeway on resources then she did. IDC still found it adorable to see DC sitting on the couch, squeezing some slime in his hand, wearing California's flannel (as always), lost in his own little world and free from the stress of the day.

IDC knew she had a place in DC's life, and that it was still the government twins against the world. But it was nice that DC had five other pair of hands ready to catch him if he fell.