Title: So Pretty
Warnings: At one point reader has a shitty day and low self esteem
—————
Saquon Barkley was protective.
That man has been protective of you since the first day you met in college. He spoke to you one time and decided after that little chat that you were going to become best friends and he was going to protect you for forever. And he really meant it when he said forever.
Years later, sitting in his car face-to-face with him, listening to him go on about you finally attending one of his practices—distance and timing made it difficult for you to attend despite him having been in the league for quite some time—and all that stuff, you felt like you were staring into the face of college boy Saquon.
If you were honest, you blanked out on what he was saying many sentences ago, but you continued to nod and shake your head whenever it felt right so that he would think you were still listening. The gist of his speech was "if those men fuck with you, they fuck with me" which you understood, so why was he still going on?
"Saquan," you hold up your hand and shut him up before giving him a sweet smile as you say, "my wonderful friend, I get what you're saying and I'm sure I'll be fine. I can take care of myself, you know?"
He heavily sighs and nods in defeat. You take that as him being done and go to get out, but apparently he's not done. He grabs your hand and makes you look him right in the eyes.
"I'm telling you, if any of the guys say a word or do anything that makes you uncomfortable, do not hesitate to rock their world. I'll do the rest."
"What will you do?" You ask with raised eyebrows, fighting back an amused smile. "Rearrange their face?"
He quickly nods, face dead serious. "If they fuck with you, I gladly will."
At that, you roll your eyes and hurry to get out before he can grab and pull you back in. He shouts your name from where he's looking over the top of the car after your retreating body. You don't look back and instead keep walking towards the building, excitement blooming in your chest the closer you get.
The running back catches up about the time you reach the front door and he moves to hold it open for you, receiving a "seriously?" look from you. Ignoring you, he motions for you to get inside because he's not showing up late for a third morning in a row.
He leads the way and you spend the time taking everything in. You're a bit nervous to meet his teammates. You've been to a few of his games and watched them play, but you had never met one of his football brothers. Five years later, here you were about to meet the entire Giants team. What you were about to do was really hitting you now as you got closer and closer to where everyone was practicing.
You had no time to prepare yourself before Saquon threw the door open and announced his arrival to everyone. There were a few cheers of his name and some curious peeks at you, but it was over as soon as it started and everyone went back to what they were doing.
The running back motions for you to follow him and you do, watching everything going on around you as you walk. You admire all the players, finding it amazing how flawlessly they run through their coaching. You could never do that. They'd have to pick you up off the floor after one run.
A loud clap startles you and you turn to find Saquon doing a handshake with a tall brunet, one you recognize immediately. Your brows lift in interest as you take in the features of the tall male, eyes traveling over every inch of his smiling face while his attention remains on Saquon. You don't want to get caught checking him out, though you're doing it quite shamelessly. It's not like you can stop yourself. Your line of vision refuses to look anywhere but him...
Until he looks at you.
Heat rises to your face at getting caught and you step forward when you see Saquon giving you an expectant look. You nearly trip over your own feet and pray that neither of the men looking at you notice how flustered you are.
Looking up at him through your lashes, you pause, finally able to take in every detail of his handsome face now that you're much closer to him. Words die in your throat. He gives the tiniest tilt of his head and you realize that you're silently staring.
"You must be Daniel," you finally say, grinning so brightly you feel your cheeks begin to ache. But it's not a bad feeling. Not many people can make you smile like this.
Daniel feels himself falter. You're gorgeous with a blank face, but when you smile...Holy shit. He resists the urge to place his hand on his chest, to check to see if his heart is really beating as fast and hard as he feels it is. It might burst from his chest. You've got to be the prettiest woman he's ever seen. There's no way you aren't.
"Y-yeah," he stutters, straightening his shoulders and standing taller to appear more confident. "That's me. I'm Daniel...Jones." He clears his throat, embarrassed. "Daniel Jones."
Your eyes twinkle with amusement and to hopefully make him feel better, you speak, "I'm (Y/n). (L/n). (Y/n) (L/n)."
"That's a lovely name," he mumbles softly, cheeks turning a pretty pink as he holds your gaze with nervous eyes. He swallows hard, Adam's apple bobbing, a movement you don't fail to notice.
Your lips curl into a shy smile instead of the confident one you tried to form and you avert your gaze to the ground. It's not often you feel flustered or shy around men, since you learned men can be quite disappointing. So many had let you down in the past, but something about this one was different. You hadn't felt any kind of disappointment or displeasure being around him...Yet. Always end with a "yet" when it comes to dealing with men.
"Thank you," you quietly reply, building up enough courage to look him in the eye when you say it. He nods and shuffles on his feet, looking like he wants to add something, but doesn't know exactly what.
Saquon clears his throat louder than necessary and you shoot him a glare for ruining your moment. He gives you a look in return and you roll your eyes.
Turning back to Daniel, you go to speak but Saquon crashes the party again, cutting in to say, "You've met Daniel, now let's go find Coach Daboll."
Your best friend grasp you by your bicep and starts to pull—more like drag—you away from the quarterback. That didn't make you too happy—which you'd let Saquon know once you were away from Daniel—so you twists around to shoot Daniel a smile and a wave, shouting bye in hopes that your time with him wasn't over.
Daniel waves back weakly, his smile fading when you turn to Saquon and start giving him an earful. Even from far away, he can see the annoyance and frustration on your face and the way you begin to talk Saquon's ear off. It makes him grin despite the disappointment he feels.
That won't—it can't be your last interaction. He won't let it be. And Saquon will not get in the way.
His eyes double in size and what he felt—what he's feeling, that warm, fuzzy, feels-like-you're-floating type feeling sinks in. It really sinks in.
"Oh boy," he breaths, butterflies exploding in his stomach when it dawns on him. His big doe eyes match those of a real doe caught in the lights. "Oh no." (He's hot! - Squidward)
•a few days later, 2 hours before the game•
Daniel turns to his tight end with furrowed brows. "Where'd Saquon go?"
"Remember that girl he brought to practice the other day?" Bellinger asks.
The quarterback perks up in interest at the name. "(Y/n)?"
"Yeah, her. He went over there to talk to her."
Bellinger points to his left towards the stands. Daniel follows the direction of his finger to find you leaning over the wall and talking to Saquon, who is laughing with you from below about something. Daniel wants to know what's so funny that it's making you laugh and smile like that.
The feeling of being watched hits you and you glance to your right, heart skipping a beat when your eyes instantly fall on Daniel. You quickly turn back to Saquon and pretend like you're listening to him, but your mind is so wrapped up in the man who has his eyes on you that you don't hear a word that leaves your best friend's mouth.
After a moment, you sneak another peek only to see that he's still staring, but now he's playing with his hands. He's nervous.
"Why is Daniel staring at us?" You wonder out loud when Saquon quiets down.
Saquon whips his head to the side, eyes narrowing when he discovers one of his worst fears is unfolding right before him. His two best friends, both from two different worlds, are gazing at each other from a distance with heart eyes. This is bad because if you two get together and then fall apart...It would be so heartbreaking for Saquon. But...but what if it didn't fall apart? He'd witnessed you get your heartbroken by so many men and he couldn't image Daniel ever hurting you like that...
"He does that sometimes." He decides to tell you, watching for your reaction. He's willing to risk it, if it means you and Daniel might get your happy ending.
You look at him oddly. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine," he waves it off, acting like it's no big deal but Daniel is still staring. And the brunet looks like he might pass out. Is he holding his breath? You feel your concern grow but Saquon adds, "He gets a little nervous before every game."
Giving the quarterback one more look, you push off the wall and take a deep breath. "I'm going to go talk to him."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Saquon grins.
There's a pause and a curious lift to your brows. "Why not? And why are you smiling?"
"You're gonna kill the poor man," he sings, his grin turning into a blinding smile that only makes your curiosity intensify.
But then it hits you and you begin to shake your head. "Are you—are you saying that he—What are you saying?" You know exactly what he's saying but you can't believe it.
"I think you know exactly what I'm saying."
Your mouth falls open in disbelief when your friend wiggles his eyebrows. Crossing your arms, you continue to shake your head.
"I don't want to say what I think you're saying if that's not actually what you're saying."
He looks like he disapproves of your comment. "(Y/n), my dearest, (Y/n)...Danny Dimes has a crush on you. It's painfully obvious."
"There's no way," you deny, turning to start heading in Daniel's direction. "We only talked for like five seconds."
Saquon keeps up with you, staring up at you as you refuse to look down at him. "Ever heard of love at first sight."
Scowling, you shrug him off, eyes locked on someone else. You're delighted to see that that someone has his doe eyes locked with yours. "Shut up. I'm sure you've got it all wrong."
"Oh, no, I've got it all right." He stops to let you keep walking, so that you can talk to Daniel alone. Then he laughs when he spots the finger you give him and goes to do his own thing.
Daniel feels himself stop breathing when you come to rest against the wall before him, that beautiful smile he's been thinking about for days on your face.
"Hey," you greet.
"Hi." He hates how small he sounds when he speaks and grimaces at the sound. He swallows nervously, twisting his hands into the towel tucked into the waistband of his tights.
You don't laugh at him or do anything that makes his embarrassment grow, which surprises him. Any other person would, but instead, you shock him when your features and smile soften.
"You look a little nervous. You shouldn't be," you tell him, wishing you could take his hands in yours and really reassure him. "Give it all you've got out there. Even if you don't win, if you do your best, that's something to smile about; to be proud of."
He melts, chest swelling with emotion that he somehow manages to conceal behind a confident smile. "Thank you. And I think it's sweet you came to watch Saquon play."
You narrow your eyes playfully. "I didn't only show for him."
Cue his cute little head tilt. "Who else did you show for?"
"Maybe I wanted to see Danny Dimes in action..." you look at the railing, feeling too shy to look at him. But, you can't resist teasing him. "Hopefully my attention doesn't make you so nervous you trip and lose your chance at a wide open touchdown."
Your response leaves him gaping. "That was uncalled for."
"It was funny."
Seeing you smiling and laughing leaves him unable to be offended by your gab at him.
"Okay, It was a little funny."
"More like really funny."
You share a good laugh for a moment and when it goes quiet, he has to ask.
"You really wanted to watch me play too?"
Others might have missed the insecurity in his voice, but you didn't. You didn't miss the hope shining in his eyes either.
"I don't see what a lot of other people see when they look at you," you confess. "I know you aren't Joe Burrow or Josh Allen, but you're a great quarterback who loves his team and does his best every time he steps onto the field. And I admire that."
Daniel is left speechless. The way he stares at you for a long time without saying a word fills you with worry, believing you might've said the wrong thing, but then he blinks a few times and smiles.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"Why are you thanking me?"
Something inside him snaps and he feels himself get pulled to you. He closes the short distance between the two of you and reaches up, hand open, silently asking you to take it.
You put no thought into it and immediately accept it, fingers fitting perfectly between his. Your firm grip grounds him and he takes a deep breath, unable to push the thought that your hands fit together like puzzle pieces from his mind.
"Those are the words I needed to hear," he whispers. "Thank you."
You squeeze his hand. "I believe in you, Daniel."
No more words need to be said, but he's not going to just walk away from you. He kisses the back of your hand and steps back, letting it slowly slip from his, then he smiles and you know everything is going to be okay.
Saquon might be onto something. And you have a strong feeling you shouldn't ignore it.
*a few weeks later*
Turns out, Saquon was jealous too. He wasn't good at hiding it, but he was good at ignoring it for not only you, but Daniel too.
He saw the two of you getting closer. He saw the way he would smile at you and you would smile back at him. He caught you whenever you'd sneak adoring glances at Daniel and Daniel doing the same at you. He watched you walk arm-in-arm, hand-in-hand, and shoulder-to-shoulder every time you were together. It was really cute, even if you started to spend a little more time with his quarterback than him, your best friend. He was happy to finally see you happy with a good man who treated you right. All your past relationships had been messy, heartbreaking, and some even toxic, but what you had going on with Daniel was healthy, and sweet, and so wonderful.
He was happy for Daniel too. The man couldn't seem to find a good woman to save his life, but you had unexpectedly walked in and changed his life. Saquon was very very happy for you both...But, he's human and he can't help the jealousy that fills him from time to time. Luckily for him, you noticed and had a talk with him, and now everything was good between the three of you.
Until you had days like today.
•••
Daniel had to look twice when Saquon walked into the building alone. Normally you would come in with him, excited for the day ahead. Today was different.
"(Y/n) not come today?" He asks when Saquon reaches him.
The man sighs heavily, frowning a bit. "She did, but she's having a rough day. She won't give me any kind of reaction. No smile, laugh, glare, sob, or anything. I hate when she gets like this because she looks so dead and she won't let anyone help her."
Daniel's brows twitch in worry. "Where is she?"
"Talking to her is a bad idea," Saquon tells him, shaking his head hopelessly. "I've tried. She won't respond."
"That's not what I asked."
Surprised by his low response, Saquon grows serious. "Daniel, I don't want to make it worse. You haven't seen her like this, and I know she won't want you to."
Stubborn as ever, Daniel holds his intense gaze and says, "I'll find her myself than," before turning on his heel and heading towards the door.
Saquon shouts his name, but Daniel ignores him and picks up his pace, needing to find you as soon as possible. Worry gnaws at him as he tries to think of where you could be. But then he remembers that you have a secret spot where you two hang out often. That's where he'll find you.
•••
There's a room on the second floor of the training center that is almost always empty. It's in an odd location, which is why it's never used. Well, it does get used, but mostly by you and Daniel when you want to hang out without all eyes on you.
He peeks his head into the room to find you sitting on the floor, back to the wall and staring blankly into space.
Not wanting to frighten you, he slowly steps inside to see if you'll notice him. If he had blinked, he wouldn't have caught the quick shift of your eyes, how they dart to him before returning to space.
"(Y/n)?" He calls softly, approaching you with caution, like you're going to attack him out of nowhere.
Your head lolls to the side, your clouded, emotionless gaze stopping him in his tracks. "What are you doing here?"
It makes his heart sink, your voice and eyes and face and everything so dead and emotionless. You're incredibly stoic and he hates it.
"Saquon told me you're having a bad day," he begins, crouching down so you can be at eye level. His eyes scan every inch of your face, turning sad when they realize you're so far from yourself. "I wanted to see you for myself, make sure you're okay."
You look straight ahead again. "It's one of those days. I'm stuck in my head." You expect him to get the message and leave you be, to pretend like he never found you like this and that everything is going to resolve and be okay, but you should've known better. Daniel is full of surprises.
"Well now I gotta get you out."
Turning back to him in surprise, you almost laugh. "Not gonna happen."
The corner of his mouth twitches, like he wants to smile but is holding it back to prevent you from reading him wrong. "I'm a very stubborn man."
"I know," you whisper, feeling something stir in your chest.
His poor knees are beginning to ache from being crouched down, so he sits down next to you, keeping some distance between your bodies. He doesn't want to upset you further.
A long beat of silence stretches out before he looks at you. You can feel his big doe eyes traveling up and down the side of your face and you try your best to avoid it, but it leaves you wondering why he's silently staring so intensely at you.
"You look really pretty today," he whispers wholeheartedly, the deep adoration in his eyes unmistakable.
Huffing out a laugh, you shake your head. "Don't lie to me."
His whole face frowns, but then it hardens, offended. "Have I ever lied to you?"
You don't have to think about the answer to that, you're shaking your head immediately.
"You look pretty," he repeats, lifting his hand up to brush some hair from your face, so that he can see you better, but he stops short, hand hovering. He's not sure you want him to touch you, but you don't move away, so he carefully moves your hair away with shaking fingers that linger on your cheek even after the hair is moved. A small grin of satisfaction and approval crosses his face when he gets to see you. "Really pretty."
Subconsciously leaning into his touch, you finally meet his eyes. "You really think so?"
"It's not something I think, (Y/n), it's something I know," he tells you. "You always look pretty."
You blink and to your surprise, your vision turns blurry and you know the tears are about to hit you after beging held back since your eyes opened this morning.
"You're just saying that," you choke out, throat tight with emotion.
"No, I'm serious. You are so pretty. All the time."
You want to believe him so badly, but insecurity holds you back, like it does on days like today. "I'm not, Daniel."
His hand drops from your face to take your hands in his, engulfing them in a comforting hold. You lock eyes, opening yourselves up to each other, so that you can see inside the other. The vulnerability and trust are something you're both unfamiliar with, but it feels right in the moment.
"(Y/n), listen to me. You may not think so, but I look at you and I see the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on. I had to collect myself when I first met you because I was caught off guard by how beautiful you are, and then I found out that you're just as beautiful on the inside. That's rare, (Y/n). You've got a rare kind of beauty that makes other people jealous, that makes others envy you. You are beautiful in every way a person can be beautiful, you hear me? And I will not sit here and let you think you're not. I mean every word."
He pauses to take a breath and you open your mouth to speak, but once Daniel Jones starts talking about something he's passionate about, that he truly believes, there is no stopping him. The world could be ending, with everything falling apart around you, but he would still be telling you exactly how he feels; the man would speak from his heart until it gave out on him. And right now, he couldn't close his heart up or shut his mouth, because he had spent so long holding it in.
"And forgive me for being so straightforward, because you might think this is a shitty time, but I feel that this is the right time to say something I've been so scared to say to you." He looks down at your joined hands and shakily inhales, deciding to be brave. He lifts his gaze and meets your eyes again. "I need you to know how much you mean to me, to see how beautiful you are to me. I need you to know that I would be a very happy man if you would give me a chance and go on a date with me. We can go wherever you want to go, if you want to go with me. It's your choice. Whatever you want."
If you thought you were beyond speechless before, you couldn't have been more wrong. You stare at him, for a long time you just stare, looking from one eye to the other, searching for amusement, for lies, for something. All you find is soft, fearful yet also hopeful eyes.
When you remain quiet, his hold on your hands loosens and he feels his heart beginning to crack.
"Please say something," he croaks out desperately.
You don't like how he sounds like he might start crying, so you mentally kick yourself before forcing yourself to put some words together, even if they aren't the ones you wish to say.
"What am I supposed to say to all of that?" You ask, bewildered by it all. "This is the last thing I expected to happen today...I think I'm in shock."
"I'm sorry if you don't feel the same and I've just ruined everything." He blurts out, terrified, and drops your hands before scooting away from you. "Forget about—"
The loss of physical contact sets off your reflexes and you latch onto the closest part of him—his wrist—holding on for dear life. That panic that exploded inside you untwists your tongue and gives you the ability to speak clearly, makes your mood do a 180.
"No, not at all! I would love to go out with you," you're quick to assure. He visibly relaxes and you smile. He smiles back, happy to see you smiling again. Becoming a little shy, you add, "And can I just say that you are the absolute sweetest man I've ever met?"
He hums, pulling a gasp out of you when he tugs you closer, his strength always a surprise to you.
"Not as sweet as you," he breathes. His hand moves to cradle the back of your head so he can hold it in place and keep you from trying to hide from him in your bashful state.
A wave of confidence washes over you when you catch onto the confidence that's grown within him. Your little smile lifts one of his brows and you lift a gentle hand to hold one side of his face, your thumb teasing the edge of his mouth, an action that nearly drives him mad.
"You haven't even gotten a taste of me yet, so how would you know?" Your whisper is close to a purr and he shivers under your hand. When he leans into your palm, you lightly press your thumb to his lips and they seperate before forming to kiss the pad. He keeps direct eye contact the entire time. Now he's nearly driving you mad. Unable to resist, you tell him, "I'm actually kinda sour."
He laughs, nervous eyes lowering to your lips. His throat bobs and you feel his hands begin to shake again. You study his body language and watch his every move with soft eyes, finding him so cute. He's no rusher, no forcer, and no rough man. He's slow, hesitant, gentle, patient. He's a gentleman.
"May I?" He asks quietly and breathlessly.
A small smile plays at your lips and you nod slowly, already leaning in, veins alight with anticipation and excitement.
It's a breath of fresh air for the both of you, the feel of each other's lips. The start is slow and it's obvious he's taking you in, mapping your mouth out with his own. You match the pace, enjoying it more than you thought you would, if that was even possible.
His hands paw at your hips, wanting you closer, and you happily obliege, crawling into his lap to get a better angle. It feels like an eternity before your lips separate.
He bumps his forehead against yours and you both laugh breathlessly, basking in the afterglow of a wonderful, long overdo kiss.
"You should stand corrected," he whispers, meeting your gaze. "You are the sweetest thing I have ever tasted. I'm addicted."
Your eyebrows shoot up. "So soon?"
"Oh, you have no idea." He deepens his voice and your heart leaps.
Smiling, you bring both hands to his face, holding it between them as if he's the most precious thing. "You'll be smitten with me by morning, won't you?" You ask.
His smile mirrors yours, but it holds an amount of attractiveness you wish you could possess. "Funny of you to assume I'm not already smitten with you."
"You're something else, DJ," you murmur affectionately, shaking your head at his comments.
"I'm sorry you look and act the way you do," he sasses, an offended crease appearing between his eyebrows.
You smooth it out with your thumb and retort with just as much sass, "I'm not, because you wouldn't have devolved a crush on me and returned my feelings if I were any other way."
It's so cute the way his eyes light up in delight at your response. But it's even cuter when he looks up at you with those bright eyes and speaks the words you've wanted to hear him say for a while.
"I like you. A lot. So very much."
Always the stutterer and rambler when overwhelmed or nervous, his rushed additions to the confession don't surprise you, but they do leave you falling harder.
"I like you too. A lot. So very much."
Pleased with your answer, he nods. "Good." Then he captures your lips in another mind blowing kiss that has you wrapping your arms around his neck and holding on.
Now that you have him, you don't want to let go.
—————
Not my finest work but a good start for Daniel I guess? I don't know I've never written for Daniel and I know not many people will read this one and the fact that it's nearly 5k words too—but oh fucking well we'll see what y'all think—I know Daniel is not a very well loved football player and he is not the best quarterback but I truly believe that he would be a good quarterback if he had protection which he does not have. I genuinely like the guy and like watching him play when he can get his shit together so I don't care if people hate this or wish I wrote for someone else because I've wanted to write for Daniel for forever but I was too busy writing what y'all wanted. This time I said "it's my turn to pick" and tada this is what y'all got! Like it or leave—I'm just kidding, I'm not really that mean
This imagine was really late though, but I had a very shitty week at work last week and this one has had its rough moments. Now I'm having some feelings that are getting stirred up in my chest and messing with my head and my heart so I've got a lot going on right now. It's about a guy...anyone who has had feelings for a guy will know my pain. And terror
I will say that I was very happy to see that the Bengals played like the Bengals on Sunday! Let's hope they keep themselves together and everything ends up being okay but I was sure nothing was going to be okay for my boys. I was almost to the point where I got in my car, drove all the way to Cincinnati, and went on the field to play for them because I was sure I could play better than they (the offense) could. And that's sad to say because I'm only 5'7 and I only weigh 125 pounds so I would get destroyed out there. That's how bad the offense was playing. That feels like a crime to say the Bengals offense was shit...Ew I hate that
Anyway, I'm gonna shut up now. Thank y'all for reading my works and supporting me and my writing! I hope you have a wonderful day/night and I love y'all so much 🖤
-Alaina