Author's note: I read that for the sixth season, each character has a secret that they've kept from the rest of the team. My tired mind started thinking of interesting, and increasingly odd scenarios for their secrets. For some reason my brain wanted to make fun of poor Hotch.
As always, I do not own Criminal Minds, I just like to embarrass the characters.
Hotch's Secret
Aaron Hotchner glanced around his office. It was later in the evening, almost everyone else had gone home. He drummed his fingers on the desk, and leaned back to look at the middle drawer on his left side. It was in there. He'd been thinking about it all day. He wasn't sure if he could wait much longer. He looked at his door. It was closed, as he usually had it when he was working on the final paperwork of a case. Hadn't he worked hard enough today? There'd been that meeting with Strauss, and then he'd spent the rest of the day working on his computer, and making arrangements for various conferences and consultations that the rest of the team would attend for the next week. He sighed and closed his laptop. If the team found out about it, he'd never live it down. He stood up abruptly, walked to his door, and took a quick look around. The bullpen was empty, no one was around. He went back to his desk and sat down. He opened the drawer and took it out. It was crisp and new, the colors sharp and inviting. He leaned back in his chair and, with a flourish, opened it up. Just as he started to get interested, his door opened. He jerked back up in his chair, and dropped what he was holding. David Rossi stood at the door, looking surprised. Hotch looked back at Rossi, waiting resignedly for his reaction.
"Aaron, what was it that you just dropped on the floor?" he asked, amusedly.
"Dave, why don't you knock?" retorted Hotchner heatedly.
"It looked like a book," he stopped and pointed towards Hotchner, "or maybe a magazine. What is it that you're reading that you don't want anyone to know about?"He started walking towards the desk, to the side where Hotch had dropped the evidence.
"Dave, it's not what you think," said Hotchner as he bent over to pick it up, "It's nothing important." He grabbed it off the floor and tried to put it back in the drawer.
"What, are you in here looking at a Playboy, or something?" Rossi laughed, "Aaron, you're a grown man, and you have every right to relax once in a while. Let me have a look." And he held out his hand.
Hotch mentally cringed, he knew he'd never get Rossi out of his office until he knew the truth. He sighed, opened the drawer, and handed it to Rossi.
"What? Aaron, I would never had expected this of you," said Rossi. Then he started laughing, as Hotch covered his eyes with his hand. "How long have you been reading these?"
"A couple of years. I bought one or two for Jack, for us to read together. Then I got a subscription to X-Men. Then I got a Justice League Unlimited subscription," Hotch told Rossi. "Don't tell the rest of the team, please. I don't want them to know I read comic books.""Why not? There's nothing wrong with it," Rossi asked curiously.
"It doesn't really fit the image of the head of a BAU team," answered Hotch. "So just do me a favor, and keep it quiet, Dave."
"Okay, Aaron, but just remember something," started Rossi.
"What's that? That even adults can act like kids sometimes?" Hotch asked.
"No. That I now have blackmail information on you. Think about that next time you want to try to send me on a road trip with Reid," answered Rossi. He turned around and walked to the door, gave Hotch a quick salute, and quietly closed the door.