Welcome to the Statehouse (Headcanons and Oneshots)

To Hell and Back Again ✨🌀

A/N: I had a thought about how I haven't written enough fluff in this book, and then proceeded to write this. My, uh, hand slipped- repeatedly-

Warnings: Brief Gore, Death

Gov should've learned by now that there was no such thing as 'peace' when it came to the Statehouse. He should've known that, as soon as the house was filled with resounding silence, something bad was about to happen. Especially when that quiet was preceded by Florida telling him that he was going up onto the roof with Loui.

And he should have immediately gotten up to help when he heard shouting from outside. Maybe then he would've had time to help.

"Loui, help!"

"Hold on a secon', sha, i'm-"

"LOUI-"

He should've, but didn't. He did, however, look up when he heard Florida scream. He looked up just in time to see something dark fall past the window, and to hear it make contact with the ground a second later.

Gov leapt up from his desk, barely hearing Loui's wail of agony over the ringing in his ears. It seemed like both an eternity and a second later that he was flying out the back door, understandably intent about finding Florida. He looked up from where he stood to see a face, white as paper and slick with tears, sticking out over the edge.

"Loui? What happened?" He was struck by the quiver in his own voice. He never lost control like this.

"Flo'ida- he fell- is he...?" Loui couldn't seem to form a complete sentence.

"Where did he fall from?"

"Over there-" Loui pointed to a spot above Gov's office window (of course, no shit, he had fallen past it) and Gov hastened over, eyes searching the untamed hedges behind the house.

It wasn't a pretty sight. A firework of red erupted from behind Flo's head, painting swaths of the stone path in crimson paint. Except he knew it wasn't paint.

"No, no, no- this can't be happening-"Gov knelt by Florida's body, searching desperately for a twitch, a breath, anything to prove he was still alive. Of course, he found nothing.

Tears blurring his vision, he gathered Florida up into his arms and carried him back into the house. At some point in the slow journey up to Flo's room, he became vaguely aware of Loui following him, looking more hopeless and despondent than Gov had ever seen him. This wasn't Florida's first death, of course- most of the states had died at some point or another. It never got any easier.

"Hey Gov, do we have a meet-" California came through one of the many doorways lining the hall, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw their faces. His eyes trailed slowly over Florida's, and a tear fell down his face.

"What happened?" He whispered.

"He- he fell off the roof." Gov's voice broke. "Get the others. We're going to... to do the lock-in." After states died, they'd wake up several months or years later, depending on the extent of bodily harm they had incurred. During that time, the living states would shut the dead one in their room, locking their door from the inside. That way, they could get out but others couldn't get in. It helped keep everyone's minds away.

"I can get them all here within ten minutes." Cali turned away, dialing furiously on his phone.

Gov walked the rest of way up to Florida's room and dropped him gently onto the bed. Loui sat next to him, seemingly unable to keep his eyes off of Florida's face.

"How long?" He asked quietly. Gov knew exactly what he meant. He shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know the extent of the damage. I would guess maybe six months, maybe more, from a four story fall like that. So... what happened?" He lowered himself onto the bed beside Loui.

"We was bein' idiots, up on the roof. We was planning to shoot the next state to get home's car with a paintball gun, jus' to be annoying. And then... he slipped. I didn't realize he was about to fall, and..." He waved a hand helplessly.

A few more minutes of heavy silence passed, both of them looking at Florida. Then Gov stood, pulling Loui with him.

"I know it seems harsh, but we really should leave." Loui nodded, stepping towards the door. Gov took one last look at the body in the bed before he walked out behind Loui, twisting the lock behind him and pulling it shut with a final click.

"Hey, I know it seems like he'll never be back. But... he will." Loui nodded as Gov turned away to go inform the others of what happened.

-----

Florida sat up with a groan. Nothing hurt- it should have, he thought- but he still felt like he had been asleep for days. Wait.

Why was he in here? and why were the leave turning gold outside, when he was sure it had just been winter? He reached into his pocket for his phone, still trying to figure out what was going on and why his head felt so... foggy. His fingers were met with shattered glass. What the hell? With a hiss, he pulled the fragments of metal out and binned them.

He stood with a stretch and immediately went for his laptop, which was still sitting on his rarely-used desk. A fine layer of dust covered everything in his room, making him cough a little as he sat down and opened his laptop.

The time read 7:15 pm, and just under that was a date. He had to squint slightly to see through the bright light of the screen, but once he could make out the numbers on the screen, his eyes widened in shock. 10/5/22.

October. It was October. He had slept through almost seven months of the year. No, not slept, that was impossible. What-

Realization hit. He had died. He had fallen off the roof. But that meant... he had been locked in. Of course. That's why his room was undisturbed. That also meant that his fellow states, his friends, still thought he was dead. Well, that needed to change.

A grin already forming on his face at the thought of the chaos he would be causing with his reappearance, he all but sprinted to the door.

Florida undid the lock, ran out of the room without bothering to close the door, and traversed the stairs, making sure to be stealthy. He listened for a second, trying to discern where the largest gathering of people was, before grinning again and stepping into the living room, coming face to face with Loui.

-----

For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. My best friend, who had been shut in his room for the past seven months, was standing before me, grinning like there was no tomorrow. He looked so happy, so unchanged.

"Flo'ida?" I said uncertaintly, elation creeping into my voice. I could hear it.

"Loui!" He lunged forward and hugged me. At long last, we were reunited.