#i’ve been marinating in all the beautiful fanart and while i cannot contribute in that way rn i will most certainly be writing

[kylermalloy]

Something something plantcest Flowers in the Attic AU

For the uninitiated, Flowers in the Attic is a gothic horror novel published in 1979 by VC Andrews. Four siblings are locked in an attic for years on end. Incest ensues.

So imagine—Vash and Nai locked up at a young age due to [unspecified tragedy] befalling Rem, which twists their subsequent development around each other

Oh my GOSH this is perfect for them

Here’s how I think it would go. Bulleted list to follow

Warnings: transphobia, manipulation, dubcon, periods, pregnancy, miscarriage

The twins are about ten when Rem dies and are passed into the hands of some relative or guardian (I am too lazy rn to elaborate further on this character)

Cruel guardian disgusted by their existence for [unspecified puritanical reason]

Does not believe Vash when he asserts he’s a boy; only provides him with dresses and skirts which he hates to wear

Nai shares his clothes with Vash so he feels comfortable

Vash adores wearing his brother’s clothes; they’re a little too big but they’re always warm and they smell like Nai. It’s a win-win.

Guardian is incredibly paranoid about the twins lusting after one another; insists they bathe, dress, sleep separately

They Do Not. They do everything together.

Vash longs for the outside. Presses his nose to the glass, dreams of climbing trees and growing flowers and going to school—

Nai helps him draw flowers all over the walls of the attic

Whenever their guardian catches Vash wearing Nai’s clothes, they’re liable to not get any food for a few days, at least

Puberty hits them both like a truck; Nai’s voice drops, Vash gets menstrual cramps and cries over his chest pains night after night

They climb out the window, sometimes, at night. Sit on the roof and watch the stars. They know them all by name; it’s in one of the books they’ve been allowed to have.

In that peace, that sliver of freedom, Vash longs for more. Maybe he cries about it. Maybe Nai just wanted to kiss him. Anyway, they discover kissing as they do all things—together.

Within a year they’re exploring each others’ bodies. They were made for this, Nai tells him. They belong together. It’s so natural, the way Nai rises under Vash’s touch, how Vash becomes slick enough for Nai to slide right into him—

Vash is pregnant by age thirteen.

They’re almost relieved when it bleeds out of him after just a few months.

Still, some part of Vash shatters when he realizes what’s happened.

He draws more flowers on the wall, over the old ones. It looks to Nai like a memorial.

Nai can’t promise him another baby. How he could he, when they’re so young, when they live like this, when they’re brothers—

It happens again, anyway.

They’re fifteen when the baby is born. It’s a girl, and miraculously, she’s healthy.

And loud. She’s very loud.

They’ve done all they can to conceal Vash’s condition from their guardian—wrapping him in coats and blankets, him feigning sickness for the last few months, when his belly is far too swollen to hide

But how can they hush a newborn baby?

Guardian finds out, cuts off their food entirely

Vash is near hysterics; how can he feed the baby if he can’t feed himself?

They’re on the brink of starvation when their guardian returns with food; announces the plan to send the baby to an orphanage

Nai snaps. He’s gotten a knife from somewhere, and—well.

They escape, two penniless boys and a newborn baby.

Making a new life for themselves is hard; they must reinvent who they are so as to appear ~acceptable~ to society

Their mother is newly deceased; the baby is their sister. They certainly haven’t been locked in an attic for five years, nope, nuh-uh.

It’s all so overwhelming. The boys deal with freedom in different ways. Nai is aloof, cut off from connecting with others—except Vash. Vash, on the other hand, gives a piece of his heart to everyone he meets.

Nai’s not jealous, of course. He knows Vash belongs to him, utterly and completely.

Right?

He begins to restrict where Vash can go, who he can see. Stay inside, brother, the baby needs you. Trust me, I know what’s best.

Vash naturally acquiesces, but he longs for the outside, for the freedom he dreamed of for so long. The flowers, the trees.

Someone probably guesses their secret about the baby, or at least part of it. Vash’s chest is a little too prominent, and people are cruel and judgmental.

Nai takes drastic measures to defend his little brother. They may or may not have to hide a body.

Sometimes, Vash whispers, he thinks it would be easier if they split up. At least for a little while.

Nai stiffens. Absolutely not.

They haven’t had full-on sex since the baby, but Nai pushes until Vash agrees to it. He warns Nai to be careful, though—they can’t explain another baby!

We’ll go away, then, Nai says. Somewhere they don’t know us.

He won’t let Vash get away from him, no matter what.

…and that’s where my imagination runs out for now. Suffice to say whatever happens after will be painful.