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Between the fall of Overwatch and the recall, Cole Cassidy’s classic cowboy look had been partially characterized by his dynamic serape. From the day he acquired it to shortly after the recall he never discarded the serape, part of it was simply because he liked how it made it look additionally it was affected by the time in his life and just the sheer amount of time he spent with it, he had to admit he had grown attached to it.
But, Cassidy eventually had to grapple with the fact that wearing the same article of clothing practically everyday, for several years, in often intense conditions and during fights would lead to a lot of wear and tear. The Serape had become faded, tattered and had begun to thin meaning Cole would need to, even if he didn’t want to, make an upgrade.
One day, shortly after Cassidy had rejoined Overwatch for the recall, he had shown up at Gibraltar in a new garment. This new article of clothing was less serape and more cape additionally, it was modern and sleek –a choice that surprised a couple of the agents that saw him–
Overall that week at Gibraltar was a slow one with most of the agents, especially the new ones, with little to do. So, with the cowboy’s sudden change in dress it gave them something to talk about. Some of them pondered what Cassidy could have done with the old garment; someone pointed out how ratty the old serape had gotten and that there wasn’t anyway that Cole hadn’t thrown it out. Though those who had known Cassidy for longer quickly rebutted this claim, citing Cole’s sentimentality as reason to why he most likely had the serape tucked away somewhere for safe keeping. They were right, Cassidy’s serape sat tucked away in a storage container under his bed and that’s where it would stay until the eldest Shimada brother set foot on Gibraltar.
If you told Cole Cassidy when Hanzo Shimada had first arrived at Gibraltar that; he would one day be giving Hanzo something he treasured so much as his old serape, he would have laughed in your face. To say that the cowboy and the arched had gotten off to a rocky start would be an understatement. But, contempt is nothing a couple of life endangering missions together can’t solve. Once the brunt of Cassidy and Hanzo’s issues had been dealt with it was easy for the two of them to realize just how similar they were; the similar way that their upbringings affected them, their mutual enjoyment of a good alcoholic beverage and of course their traditional taste in armaments.
It was a slow –and frustrating– process but eventually Cassidy and Hanzo admitted their feelings to the other and about a month or two into them officially dating Cassidy had offered his old serape to Hanzo, with them not always being assigned to the same missions together and having to go periods of time without seeing each other Cassidy had wanted to give Hanzo something to make him think about him. He had half expected Hanzo to laugh at the gesture and to turn down his offer but the archer earnestly thanked him for it and supplied the cowboy with a kiss once the serape was handed to him.
Ever since then Cassidy’s serape has become a staple in Hanzo’s bed, often wrapped around his pillow so he can drink in the cowboy’s scent as he drifts off to sleep. As well as it being carefully packed into Hanzo’s bag everytime he is called out to the field without the actual cowboy to accompany him.
And every so often those at Gibraltar will see the cowboy going about his day in his old serape, if asked he’ll make some hurried excuse about his new cape being in the wash –stains from food, training or, perhaps if events aligned, those from a recent mission– But, the actual reason is always the same, a certain archer had complained about how Cole’s scent had faded from it and how could he refuse him.