Nathanael doesn't know when he started watching Marinette. Doesn't know when this person – sweet and kind and oh so perfect – began to catch his eye everywhere he went. Doesn't know when every smile made him smile back, even when they weren't for him.
They might never be for him, only for her blind stupid prince.
But he wasn't jealous. A lot of things but never jealous. He understood looking at someone and wishing for all the world they would look back at you.
She fascinated him, cloaked in shy smiles and giving nature. People mistook kindness for vulnerability. Generosity for weakness. No one else saw the hidden strength of her will, the unbent arc of her spine, her smile in the face of what forced him to cower. Where he was weak, she had the strength of a warrior – the resolve of a Queen. Marinette stood against Chloe, stood up for the rest of them, and never compromised on her own moral code.
He'd attacked Chloe – her most hated enemy – and Marinette had made him promise so she could be protected.
That, and her willingness to put herself in danger to save him from the Akuma, told him more than anything about the size of her heart. And Adrien was at the center of it.
Blind and stupid Adrien.
So, more than anything, Nathanael wished for her happiness – for the blind prince to be healed by Rapunzel's tears – and for the both of them to have a happily ever after.
His Queen deserved that much.
Okay, lurked enough. Posting something. Considering getting a tumblr. (I lasted several years without one - this vortex is STRONG) Please review and tell me if you liked it. ^~^
Also has anyone read the original Rapunzel? It's kind of beautiful; he saves her at great cost to himself(his sight) and she saves him by restoring it. Fun facts with Witch! Enjoy!