As a note: I wanted this out of my head and posted as quickly as possible, so I'm sorry about…the whole thing. It also has a stupid ending and it explains nothing.
Hat
There was an obvious difference, at least to Hanzo, between 'the man who wore the cowboy hat' and 'the man named Jesse McCree'. Had anyone else taken notice of the fact that there seemed to be an instantaneous transformation between the confident, charming man and the quiet, awkward gentleman?
Surely the others knew. It was as plain as day. But that didn't make it any less interesting to watch.
A simple accessory altering the personality in such a way. Astonishing. Hanzo could only watch the taller man as he interacted with his teammates. McCree was all smirks and swagger when he donned that hat.
But now, as Hanzo was sitting and quietly restringing his bow, the taller man called to him from the rest of the group. "Shimada, there ya are!" And there he was, jogging over and removing his hat just as he arrived.
The smirk he'd worn earlier became softer, as did his voice. Curious.
"Whatcha doin' all by yerself over here?" the cowboy asked.
Hanzo didn't answer. He simply chuckled and went on with what he was doing. Yes, this was definitely Jesse McCree and not 'the man who wore the cowboy hat'.
"Ya know, yer free to join us if you'd like. Ya don't hafta sit all alone," McCree said.
The cowboy spoke gently and when Hanzo looked up, he glimpsed McCree fiddling clumsily with his hat. He'd seen McCree in combat and those hands were far from clumsy. Was it because he'd taken the hat off?
After a long silence, Hanzo finally responded, "I prefer the quiet. It helps me focus on the task at hand."
Thinking he'd put an end to the conversation and that McCree would go away, Hanzo went back to stringing his bow. Strangely enough, however, the bowman noticed that not only did McCree not leave, but the cowboy actually took a seat beside him and started watching what he was doing.
"Ya don't hafta be alone to have quiet," McCree whispered.
Hanzo had nothing to say in response. The smaller man didn't mind having an audience. McCree seemed interested in what he was doing and he was being quiet, so Hanzo continued.
later….
Hanzo's theory about McCree's hat had bothered him for the rest of the day. Why had he never heard anyone speak of it? Had no one else really noticed? There was one person to whom he could speak who had the same keen sense of observation that he had….
"McCree's hat?" Symmetra asked as she stood in the hallway in front of the Japanese man. She chuckled. "What is it? Do you believe it to be the source of his power or something?"
Hanzo didn't appreciate being laughed at, but he ignored it. "I believe it may be the source of his confidence. It's like he is a completely different person without it."
Symmetra shook her head. "I doubt it. Besides, he takes his hat off often enough and I have seen no change in his personality as a result. The only time I see a change in his personality is when he is around you."
Hanzo thought for a moment and squinted his eyes in confusion.
"Surely you have noticed that he behaves differently around you. Perhaps it is because of your cultural background, but it is not my place to speculate," Symmetra went on.
It was pretty obvious that she'd finished saying what she had to say because she simply turned and walked away. If what she had said was true, maybe Hanzo didn't have the keen sense of observation he thought he had.