Four Things Steve and Chin Don't Know about Danny and One Thing They Do Know (Danny [PG])
1. Danny Reads Romance Novels
It's not something he would have done in New Jersey, but since moving to the God forsaken, pineapple infested, everyone loves the beach Island, he's started reading them. If the guys ever knew that Danny read romance novels, he'd never hear the end of it. Truth be told, it's helped him to know what works and doesn't work with women. He's even used some of what he's learned on Kono, but couldn't "seal the deal" because he knew that if she ever found out, she'd literally kick his ass. As would Chin and Steve. So he keeps this secret to himself. He reads late at night, once Grace as gone to bed, he reads during solo surveillance shifts, and sometimes, when he should be paying attention during meeting, he's reading on his Kindle.
2. He likes Hair Bands – and not the kind Gracie wears
The first time 10 year old Danny heard Bon Jovi he was at his friend David's house back in New Jersey. David said his brother had a tape of this awesome band and Danny just "had to listen" to it. David snuck into his brother room, grabbed the tape and ran it back to his room. He put it in his tape deck and pressed play. As soon as "You Give Love a Bad Name" starting playing, Danny was hooked. He begged his dad to buy him the tape and when that didn't work, he broke his beloved piggy bank and went to the record store to buy it himself. It didn't take long for Danny to discover other bands – Guns n' Roses, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, KISS, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourn and White Snake, to name a few. To say that music was the only thing about these groups he liked was an understatement. He began to dress like them. He'd never be able to grow his hair out, no, his father wouldn't allow that, but dressing like the bands he idolized was okay. Thirteen year old Danny got the girls with his new look. That's what he liked. Girls liked the bad boys and now that he was a "bad boy" the girls liked him. Twenty-five years later, Danny sometimes held on to those youthful days. He wasn't listening as the adult police officer. No, he was the 10 year old boy in ripped jeans and his air guitar strapped on, listening in the basement of his parents house in New Jersey
3. The real reason he doesn't like pineapples – they remind him of Sideshow Bob
To say that Danny doesn't like pineapples is an understatement. He loathed them – never ate them, never would. Not his mother's famous pineapple upside down cake, not in mixed fruit cups and definitely not on his pizza! This dislike grew even more with the introduction of the Simpsons' character Sideshow Bob. Oh that cartoon man with his red hair that went every which way – like a pineapple. At fourteen, he couldn't understand why his friends liked him so much. He wasn't funny in the least bit, but every week his friends would talk about him. Guys like Billy Crystal and Cheech and Chong were funny to him. Clearly his friends were missing out…or just maybe he was missing out. No. That wasn't it. There was absolutely nothing funny about that pineapple haired cartoon man! But the show, The Simpsons, was funny.
4. He liked the movie The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
Danny was 12 years old when TheNewAdventuresofPippiLongstocking came out in the theaters and probably shouldn't have gone to see it, but with a monkey and horse and pirate treasure, what boy could resist. Much to his dismay, the movie wasn't what he thought it would be, but as he watched, he was captivated by it. The songs were catchy – not like Bon Jovi, Guns n' Roses or KISS, but he liked them enough – though he did have to make sure he wasn't humming the theme song around any of his buddies.
When Danny's 8 year old daughter, Grace discovers the movie, he is secretly thrilled to be able to watch and bond with her – though he makes sure to protest just a little bit so no one becomes too suspicious. He and Grace decide they're going to clean his apartment with brush skates and dodging "splunks" that are sure to be hiding around. They end the day with pancakes and watching the movie.
5. He's head over heels in love
There's no denying that Danny has mellowed some in the last few month. Steve and Chin noticed as much when Danny went from hand talking several times a day, to around four times a week – if even that. He was no longer quick to fly off the handle when Steve suggested something off the wall (and Steve has tried on more than one occasion to get Danny wound up, but it just didn't work). His rants were also gone too. Instead, when Danny felt the need to rant, he'd steal a glance at Kono and the problems would seem to melt away. Steve and Chin also noticed the way he dressed was changing as well. He still "dressed up" but sans necktie. It was like every day was casual Friday for him. Those minor changes weren't anything of much significance. What really revealed that Danny was in love happened on accident. The team was out to lunch when a beautiful young woman approached them and asked Danny for him number. Chin swore he saw his cousin pretend not to watch how Danny responded, and Steve noticed Danny almost timidly reach for Kono as he said that he was in a relationship. Even when he and Rachel tried, unsuccessfully, to reconcile, he was still very much a flirt. But denying an obviously beautiful woman asking for his number was something completely different.