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After a long time, you were on a mission together, just you and Cole. You were a perfect match and complemented each other perfectly. Even though you were always worried about him when he went on solo missions.
Your mission took you to the desert, near New Salem's village. You found it quite convenient since your target was a witch who used people as potion ingredients and guinea pigs.
You followed the trail of her magic into the desert where it was lost to you. And so you switched to a different tactic. Cole got off the bike and turned into a wolf. First, he sniffed up in the air and then put his snout to the ground. He looked for her scent for a good while before barking at you and running in that direction. You followed him on the motorbike.
His nose led you to a several-meter circle, the edges of which were decorated with the bones of both animals and people. Some skulls were used as torches that blazed with green fire. The sight sent chills down your spine. You had a bad feeling about this.
You'd prefer to call for backup, but that shouldn't make Cole burst into the circle. As soon as he jumped through it, the fires in the skulls flared up with meter-long fire and immediately dwindled again. This was a bad sign.
You jumped off the bike, readied your pistol and ran after the werewolf. You jumped over decaying corpses and bare skeletons. The torches caught fire behind you too. You had the impression that this circle was some kind of barrier.
You ran over to Cole who was standing a few feet away from your target with his fur standing on his back and growling menacingly at the woman in the long tattered and dusty dress. But she looked like she didn't care at all and just smiled happily.
"Surrender and nothing will happen to you!" you called the witch.
"I'd say this applies more to you," she smiled and waved her hand. "The petite girl with the little guns and the overgrown puppy," she giggled. “There's nothing to be afraid of,” she said, and it was clear that she was either underestimating you, or it was a trap or a provocation.
“As you wish,” you replied, nodding at Cole. That's when you went on the attack. You fired as the werewolf circled her and attacked her from behind. The witch dodged it with ease and returned fire with her spells.
"Don't you want to join me?" she asked you as she moved behind your back in no time and pressed the knife against it. "You have potential. I could teach you so much. And you could keep that dog as a pet. We'd rule the world together," she urged you.
“Never,” you replied firmly and turned around, ready to put a bullet through her head.
“Too bad,” she shrugged before disappearing as suddenly as she appeared behind you.
Suddenly a mist rose around you as if someone had used a smoke bomb and all you could see was the dim light of the nearest torches. This was bad. It felt like a trap you had just walked into. You felt something big and hairy brush against your side. It was Cole.
“I don't like this one bit,” you told him in a low voice, still watching your surroundings. The werewolf grunted in agreement before he perked up. Flames appeared a few meters in front of you and illuminated the figure of the witch. You could feel the air being infused with magic, almost electrifying.
"Cole, wait!" you yelled at the werewolf but too late. He took off after the witch and at the time of your call, he was already in the air ready to deliver the fatal blow. However, when it came to the encounter, the figure of the witch dissolved and the werewolf leapt through nothing.
"Cole!" you called to him and ran to him. A gradually receding laughter echoed through the space, and the fog also began to slowly dissolve. You ran to the place where you last saw your boyfriend, but you couldn't find him anywhere.
"Cole!" you called him again. Without response. As visibility improved, you noticed something move a few meters away. You walked closer to it and recognized it as a three-legged ball of hair, only it was much smaller.
"Cole are you okay?" you asked but the werewolf was out. You shook him and he opened his eyes for a moment, whimpered and closed them again.
“You’ll be fine. I promise,” you told him, carefully taking him into your arms. He was now the size of a puppy.
You walked with him to the motorcycle and there you put him in the bag that was just right for him. Here you had him resting on your lap. Seated like this, you set off towards the base. The sooner you get there, the sooner you can get Cole back to normal size.
On your way back to the base you hoped you wouldn't run into anyone, but in these cases it's like Murphy's Law and you ran into Genji right at the door.
"Hi, so what about the mission? How did it go? Did you burn her? Where's Cole? Is she okay?" the cyborg peppered you with questions.
"Is Mercy here or is she on a mission?" you asked him instead of answering his questions.
"She's in the office doing paperwork," he shrugged.
“Thanks,” you replied and ran off before he could pick you up again. You wanted to find out about Cole first and then think about the mission.
Mercy was glad to see you alive and well. She immediately checked you over and tended to any wounds, while writing a mission report with you.
“Well, there was a small problem,” you said as you described the fight with the witch.
"What problem?" the doctor asked, furrowing her brows. This never meant anything good.
“The witch used a spell that Cole jumped into and he's been like this ever since,” you explained taking him out of the bag. Mercy took him in her arms and first examined him for any visible injuries before placing her hand on his head which was oozing golden energy.
"No superficial injuries and the curse doesn't seem dangerous. I'd say it's a pretty harmless charm, but I'll do some tests just to be sure," she said, using a small charm to take a sample of his blood and hair. She then handed him back to you.
"What about him?" you asked not sure if he was going to be okay.
"It's probably better if he stays with you for the time being. He probably wouldn't be able to take care of himself very well at this size, and especially he'll need some moral support," she replied, and you immediately understood what she meant. When your cowboy finds out, his ego may take a huge hit.
From Mercy, you and Cole went back to your room. You put him on the bed and headed to the bathroom where you needed a hot shower. After all this, you didn't want anything else. Put the cowboy back to his original height, but that was beyond your power.
You were just washing off the shampoo when a loud bang accompanied by whining came from the room. You quickly wiped yourself off and ran out of the bathroom wrapped in towels. The werewolf had fallen off the bed and was now sprawled out in the pile of clothes you had left there. He broke out of this little trap and looked around.
"Cole, how are you feeling?" you asked him, squatting down next to him. The werewolf barely scrambled to all fours when you leaned into him and he fell. You carefully picked him up and placed him on the bed. Cole looked around before falling again. He sat up and whimpered.
“Do you remember what happened? We were on a mission, you lunged at a witch and she cursed you,” you explained. Cole listened to you and nodded his head. Then he got on all fours and concentrated as if he wanted to change back. Most of the time he was fine with it, but now it was knocking him all over, but nothing. He whimpered and tried again. Again no results.
“Mercy said it should wear off on its own but it's hard to tell,” you said but it didn't seem to help him much. His head dropped and he hid under your pillow.
“Come on, we'll get you out of this,” you tried, pulling him out of his hiding place. You took him in your arms and he rested his head on your hand. You scratched behind his ear with your free hand, where he liked it and where you scratched him when the full moon was closing. You knew it worked because he relaxed like butter and waggled his tail lazily.
Even so, it was only a momentary release. When you put him back on the bed, he lay down with his paws over his nose and whimpered sadly. It was a big blow for him. Before a giant feared werewolf and now? Little puppy. You wanted to cheer him up and change his mind, but nothing worked. You finally thought of something.
"I'm going to go get something and be right back, okay?" you told Cole giving him a quick kiss on the forehead before walking out of your apartment.
You came back after about an hour with a small paper bag. Cole raised his head curiously before lowering it again. He was still lying in one place.
“I bought you something,” you smiled at him and placed the bag in front of him. It didn't work with him either. You took out a red scarf with yellow trim and a small cowboy hat from your bag. You tied the scarf around his neck and put the hat on him.
“You look like before now,” you smiled, showing him the mirror. Cole looked at you and then at the mirror before whining and running his paw over his nose as if to tell you if this was just a stupid joke.
“Come on, you look great,” but he only rolled his eyes.
"Don't be like that. You still have your charm," you laid down next to him and pulled him closer to you. This is worse than you expected. You thought a cowboy would do a lot better. But despite how much he was whining and grumbling, he kept it on and wouldn't take it off.
The next evening, you were laying in bed petting Cole and wondering what to do next when there was a knock on the door.
"It's unlocked!" you called and Hanzo walked in with his brother Genji.
"How is he?" the younger Shimada asked first, immediately heading towards Cole. He was sitting on the bed and nodded at them in greeting.
"Look, he's cute! Who's the nice boy? Well, who's the nice boy?" and began to tease Cole, poking him and caressing him. The werewolf growled a warning at him and fake snapped at him, but it had no effect on the cyborg and continued to tease him.
"See, at least he's not sulking today. It took him quite a while that first day," you explained.
"… Hey, how about I take Y/N and you as a pet?" Genji asked him and that was the final straw for the cowboys. He couldn't hold back any longer, launched himself at the cyborg and bit the hand that was prodding him. Genji tried to shake him off, but Cole wouldn't budge.
Genji got up with him, but even so, the werewolf was hanging from his hand. You laughed at it for a moment as it was comical before you walked over to them and wanted to take him off. You took him under paws but he only looked at you before biting down even more until the armour dented a bit.
“Come on, you'll just ruin your teeth like that,” you said, but it didn't help either. So you switched to plan B and started tickling his tummy. Cole tried to resist but finally let go. You grabbed him in your arms and he stuck his tongue out at Genji.
"He still has his spirit," Hanzo said with a smile.
You brought dinner to the room that evening. You took something for yourself and something for Cole. You didn't want him to eat alone and this seemed like the perfect solution. In addition, you played the movie you were planning to watch and took a bottle of alcohol with you. You poured both into a glass and him into a small bowl.
“So cheers and see you soon as usual,” you toasted before you both took a drink.
It's been a week since that failed mission with the witch and you and Cole were just coming back from a little walk around the base. You were as dirty as two little pigs when you came back. That was from all the jumping into leaves, puddles and such. But at least you had fun and the werewolf moved on.
After you got back from outside you took Cole into the shower and since he was like a puppy, you washed him. But before he could shake like a proper dog and get you all wet, you dried him off with a towel.
After a long day, you curled up in bed and the werewolf lay down next to you. A little after midnight, you woke up as if someone had placed a boulder on your chest. You couldn't move. With difficulty, you threw off the heavyweight and turned on the light.
You rubbed your sleepy eyes wondering if you had dreamed it all. On the floor next to the bed was Cole, but the already normal size and yawning sleepily.
"Cole?" and you went down to him. It was too real to be a dream. “It's you again,” you smiled, hugging him and burying your face in his shaggy fur. When you let him go, he finally turned into a human.
“Howdy,” he greeted you, his voice hoarse from not speaking for so long. Out of sheer joy, you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him.
“I'm glad you're back to normal,” you told him afterwards.
"Me too," he replied happily.