Title: Five Things about Aaron Hotchner that Aren't in His Personnel File
Author: Kuria Dalmatia
Rating/Warnings: R (profanity, offensive language, physical and verbal abuse), spoilers for Season 5. Occurs after "Faceless, Nameless"
Characters/Pairing: Hotch (Hotch/Haley, Hotch/Reid)
Please see Chapter 1 for Disclaimers, Warnings and Comments
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Fact Three: Aaron Hotchner knows how to Cha-Cha because Uncle Freddy insisted that a gentleman should know how to dance.
It wasn't because Hotch was forced to take lessons as a child.
While his parents belonged to a prestigious country club, his mother never insisted that Hotch participate in the various Mother-Son activities. His father took a pass on all the Father-Son activities except for golf because Hotch was quite good at the game and they won every time they entered the contest.
The other sons of country club members hated Hotch because he got out of such humiliating events as the Mother-Son Dance, which included dance lessons every Thursday, and the Mother-Son Talent Show, which required elaborate costumes. They beat him when they could, but like all smart tormentors, they knew how to inflict damage that was easily hidden by clothing. They didn't know how much Hotch envied them for having to participate, because at least their mothers wanted to spend time with them.
They hated Hotch because he won the golf tourney with his father every Spring.
They didn't know the penalty for Hotch losing.
Second place was never an option.
Uncle Freddy taught Hotch how to dance the summer Hotch's parents toured the French Riviera. Hotch wasn't allowed to go because he hadn't earned the privilege. His language tutor informed Hotch's parents that he had a miserable accent—his Carolina drawl apparently curdled French vowels—and that no self-respecting parent would ever allow him to talk to native speakers. Hotch was beaten by his father and verbally berated by his mother, which was the standard punishment for any kind of failure.
Spending the entire summer with twice-divorced Uncle Freddy in Charleston was supposed to be a penalty, but wasn't.
It was the best three months of Hotch's childhood.
So, at his next session, he stated that the third thing that wasn't in his personal file was that, "I know how to Cha-Cha."
Frost pounced upon it like a kitten after a ball of yarn. She used it to segue into a discussion about his childhood, just as he predicted she would. He doled out information carefully, complete with appropriate body language and eye contact.
She didn't challenge him, which was a shame, because she started off so strong and Hotch honestly thought she might be someone he could actually talk to.
Hotchner Three, Frost Zero.
Now. That wasn't fair.
Hotch decided to give her the Cha-Cha point because she was able to loop it back to the initial "Han Solo" conversation.
Hotchner Two, Frost One.
But only because he was being generous.
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