#I think the 'moreau has eliot's dog tags' thing was maybe suggested by eliot-wolfgirl-spencer but I couldn't find the post

[wolves-in-the-world]

It's an awkward angle, but there's a knot in the wood at the back of a drawer that feels a little off when he brushes his fingers over it. Eliot lines up the key and it goes in smoothly. Their voice washes over him, filed away by the part of him that's still assessing, trying to make sense of their deal, as the small drawer on the side of the desk - invisible until now - pops open. He has just enough sense to poke a pen inside to set off any traps before reaching in. He takes out his dog tags and feels the weight of years hanging from the chain. Lives lost, lives taken; all the siblings he fought for and all those who fought for him; the person he once was before he got his hands bloody in the service of what he loved. It's a mistake he seems doomed to repeat. He loops the chain around his neck and tucks it under his shirt, resting his hand there for a second as if feeling for a heartbeat. All the things he gave Moreau, all the things he can never get back, and he never thought he would see this one again.

(in which moreau is the kind of pretentious fuck to have a writing desk with secret compartments and someone made eliot's decision for him by killing moreau before eliot had a chance to leave. also in which moreau maybe kept the key in a hidden pocket behind his left lapel definitely coincidentally over his heart, don't think about it too hard, it's fine.)