"How are these guys' garbage cleaner than my entire apartment. . ?!" You whisper-yelled, trying your best to lock your jaw to avoid chattering in the chances of anyone listening in. Layla had gone inside through the front door with Mr. Compress, who was ironically the only one decently dressed. Given the magician's tendencies of. . . dressing extra. "I'd say your apartment's pretty clean," Dabi laughed, somehow not at all bothered by the cold. Oh yeah that's right, it was because he had fire powers!! And he could probably regulate his body temperature!!! "You're just trying to comfort me."

     "Whatever lets you sleep at night."

     Shigaraki stayed quiet as he walked a few ways off, the route you had decided to take giving him enough of a distance to brood.

     You walked through the side of the building, the bins that were almost the size and height of you apparently having their own organizer. Not a single piece of trash was out of place, and instead of the usual green, they were white to match the entire place's color scheme. Which made it even look neater! Because there was not a single flaw to the paint! Yeah some of them were chipping, possibly, you weren't sure, but no stains at all?! Impossible!

     "Babe, calm it," The phoenix humored, noticing the way you were practically asking for a fight with whoever managed the damn garbage. Chatter and the humming of appliances softly rumbled from the building, a quiet damper to the rest of the city's noise. Especially now at night, and with Christmas being, what, one, two weeks away? You could've sworn you already heard some eager drunks somewhere in the distance singing Christmas carols at the top of their intoxicated lungs. 

     The alley—could you even call it that?—you walked on was lined with the annoyingly perfect bins on your left, while there was a large two-way road on the other. There was barely any light, the only thing keeping you from stumbling on something—if that were even possible. Again, perfect trash, and now a perfect road?! Pebbles apparently didn't exist here!—being the ones from the windows above and from the lamp posts on the park right on the other side of the wall. 

     "Why are we here, anyway?" Came the sobering voice of. . . you know, you weren't quite sure what Shigaraki was. The man could just crumble stuff with his hands, and you haven't read enough mythology to make a connection. "This seems really unnecessary." 

     "It is, actually," Dabi nonchalantly responds, a shaking Elijah somewhere hiding by his other side. After he told you of his relationship with the seemingly heaven-sent help that was the apparent assistant of one Dr. Harrison, the poor scientist kept to the shadows. It was obvious he wasn't trying to be recognized, and so you had the ingenious idea of taking the backdoor. Almost all the staff were gathered up front for their little dinner party, so it wouldn't be much of a challenge to sneak in armed criminals. You assumed they were armed, anyway, because that wouldn't be much of a stretch. 

     Compress had to go with Blue to not make it too suspicious, if that made any sense. He was going to stick out like a sore thumb, and although you might've been better suited at the job of showing face rather than a complete stranger, these people didn't exactly know their way around the building. 

     So mastering the art of social awkwardness, Layla would excuse herself from the random guy who saved all your asses and bring Compress to her lab herself. You would be in charge of the other three, and that was basically the plan. Speaking of, you had arrived at the back entrance if the light around the corner was of any clue.

     "You know, this whole betrayal and secret of yours is kind of boring." Shigaraki comments, trying not to listen in on whatever he had to say when it was clearly suited for Dabi to hear. "I expected something more drastic. Like turning us all in to the cops or something."

     "Yes, Tomura, I'm completely stupid." Came his sarcastic reply, rolling his eyes as he cut the conversation short. Could it even be considered one? Also what was happening? They sounded like they were on okay terms earl—oh it was the alcohol wearing off, that's it. Did they always argue this much? Or were you just reading into it too much and this was just how men normally conversed? 

     Either way you were glad they shut up, because by the time you rounded the corner was the only time you noticed the parking lot. It was a large space, industrial cars lining one side somewhere to your left while others took up random slots. As long as they're free, right? Whatever at least the guard didn't look like he cared too much of his job to notice your idling figures, stopping for a few moments before entering the double glass doors with a push. Immediately were you hit with a gust of warm air, dramatically sighing in relief as, fucking finally! A place that didn't feel like walking inside a fridge naked!

     "You sure we're in the clear?" Dabi asks with noticeable skepticism, head trying to look past corners and doors in any case a person passed. "Oh calm down, I haven't heard shit. And you can trust me! My hearing's been so good recently I could hear the toilet flushing from upstairs." Shigaraki scoffs, not so much at you but at the statement, "Maybe you just have loud toilets."

     "And maybe you are right but my point still stands."

     "Uhm, g-guys," Elijah stutters out, turning towards him with the softest look you could muster. The anxiety on his face got worse when you made contact with the man with glasses, and you were just trying your best to help. "There's. . . cameras," He whispers, trying to make himself shrink from the way he looked like he was curling his body and letting his head hang as low as he could to avoid appearing in any recordings. "Well isn't that fucking dandy," Dabi scoffs, trying his best not to either glare or burn the things right off. Both were going to disappoint you and he was too tired to deal with that. 

     "Well, whatever! At least now we know even though it was kind of obvious," You shake your head, leading them to turn a left, "Thanks for that, Elijah. Now come on, let's just get to the elevator." The three remain quiet but follow, still wary and turning their heads left and right, up and down at every turn. God, did they seriously expect to find something in a vent grill? Normally you might make a remark of only finding rats there, but with garbage as clean as theirs you highly doubted that. You had a higher chance of finding cash in those events than you did with bugs or critters of any kind. And this was New York! How are they keeping this building so clean?!

     The elevator stood at a distance, hallways cutting into different directions while some doors littered the walkway. There wasn't much to see, really. It had the energy and appeal as an empty hotel, the only signs of life being soft music coming from the venue and a voice talking through a microphone. You couldn't make out most of the words, but you didn't care enough to actively try and decipher them either way. 

     Before you could all approach it, it dings softly, signifying the arrival of someone and panicking. Without realizing you were dragged into one of the doors that Shigaraki had haphazardly slammed open, revealing an—equally clean—storage closet and being shoved into darkness.

     There in front of you was a small, translucent window, the cloudy texture distorting whoever's figure was passing. They paused for a moment right outside, all five of you sucking in a breath and trying to hide deeper inside. Which was downright impossible, you could feel yourself getting slowly suffocated by Dabi pressed closely to your chest while a broom had fallen over and was now awkwardly balancing on your leg lest you wanted it to fall and cause an accident. You could feel Elijah's elbow digging deep onto your hip. You didn't know how you ended up in such a bone-breaking position, but you couldn't complain much as it seemed Shigaraki took the worst of it.

     A bucket had fallen off the shelf, barely holding onto the surface as half of it remained on the scowling man's head. Inside it were some cleaning materials, and you knew that with one wrong move he could create the loudest crash in history, especially now with the circumstances. 

     You all quietly stared out the little window in hopes of finding the figure gone and the clearing safe, but that didn't seem to be the case. They just stood there, quietly looking back and forth—it was obvious, despite how everything looked like it had a weird filter on—soliciting a quiet and inward groan from the lot of you. God! Why couldn't this night just go regularly?! 

     A few moments later, when it felt like all hope was lost. . . you lost even more remaining hope that somehow still existed.

     Through the door you heard footsteps, to which you were about to celebrate about because you assumed it was the figure leaving, but it was, in fact, the exact opposite. Another figure came into view, cursing quietly as they stopped for a chat. If you weren't in a position that needed to be quiet you would've bet your bottom dollar that Dabi would say something along the lines of 'get comfortable' with a wink or something flirty, but even the man realizes that this was a stealth mission so he just settled with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

     . . .

     You ignored him.

     "Do you have it?" Came a feminine voice, followed by a burp, then a groan of protest. "Christ, Ann you smell like shit."

     "Cork it! I already put on perfume for this Godforsaken thing. Now do you have it or not?!" A scoff from the other voice, it sounded male, then through the limited view you saw him hand something over. "I'm going to ignore your weird choice of words. Now do you have it?" 

     "Yuh-doy. Here," In turn she tosses something, not being able to see what it was as the other struggles to catch it, "Nice, nice. Anyway should we go find boss? He's gonna kill us if he ever finds out we skipped his speech." A hum and an exaggerated shrug, being able to see dark hair tucked under a colorful bonnet if you squinted hard enough. "As if. I'm the best in our floor, and you'd be lucky if he even acknowledges you." 

     "Shut up!"

     You roll your eyes with a tired groan, not being able to voice it out so you just let out whatever frustration by—softly—banging your head onto Dabi's chest. Goodness, you might've as well just slammed through an actual wall. It was rock solid! Why was his chest so rock-solid?! 

     "Anyway I found nothing upstairs," You zoned back in as you turned to face the blurry window, your cheek resting tiredly on a wall—on the phoenix's chest. "All the damn doors looked the same and I couldn't even enter most of them. This place has some seriously good security." A moment of quiet, perhaps maybe an eyeroll (you only made that assumption because you were dying to do another one if this conversation of theirs was going to last any longer), "Doubt it's as good as ours." 

     "It won't be if you talk about it," It came out more as a hiss from a girl, your initial gut feeling of sketchiness now a full-blown theory. A yelp came from the guy, an arm outstretched—to pinch him?—barely noticeable. "Ow-ow! Okay I get it, let go!" More moments of quiet, feeling a shift and an audible intake of breath as the bucket on Shigaraki's head threatened to shake. 

     . . .

     Even as they kept talking outside nobody paid attention, much more focused on the bucket, all pairs of eyes glaring hard as though that would somehow convince it to stay put. 

     'Stop moving!' Dabi mouths, earning a quiet scoff from the man, 'Like I could, genius!' he gestures to his hands—or at least tries to. Kind of hard to gesture to your hands when your head is forced to stay upright and you can't use your hands. A paradox, really.

     "Ugh, I can hear his speech from here so boring." Came the girl's statement, a quiet joy of relief as new movement from them came. They were walking off to the left, to join the rest of the commotion, "This better end quickly, I hate this place. Can't go through a single hallway without being stopped by eager nerds." 

     "You work in a lab too, Ann."

     "Yeah but at least we're cooler because we're underground!"

     Their voices faded away into the distance, neither of you moving a muscle in fear of anyone turning back. 

     . . .

     . . .

     . . .

     "Okay I think it's safe now," Dabi mumbles, sighing in relief as you peeled yourself off of him. Oh to tell your sweater to calm it. Thirsty bitch was practically on it's knees begging to be near the phoenix's shirt.

     . . .

     Okay so you may or may not have officially lost your mind.

     In your attempt to stand upward you have completely forgotten of the broom relying on your leg, sliding down and landing onto the floor with a loud bang. You inhaled deeply, all of you flinching in surprise and once again keeping quiet in any case somebody came back around to check. 

     . . .

     "Okay, now it's safe," Dabi only laughs as you hit his arm, taking another moment to look outside before shouldering the door open. It did, soundlessly, sighing in relief as you were finally in a space that didn't remind you of any nightmares from your experiences in seven minutes of heaven. 

     "What were they even doing looking around the labs?" You asked, a scent you weren't familiar with lingering in the spot they had been standing on just moments before. You weren't exactly sure of what it was, but at this point you were too scared to ask. "I'm pretty sure that's illegal and signs of criminal behavior. Don't think there's a non-suspicious explanation as to why they're scouting them out." A grunt came from Shigaraki as he exits the closet, slamming it close with his leg and ignoring the bored glare from Dabi, "They're looking for him." 

     You raised a brow as he points to Elijah, standing quietly beside the door with him fiddling his hands. "They called the idiot saying a speech their boss, and that was the same guy this idiot also called his boss." Nobody even bothered to be offended by the nickname, not even Elijah himself, "He probably saw him earlier when he ex-machina'd us from that annoying guard." He then shrugs, scratching his neck with an annoyed huff, "I'm even gonna bet that he's the one who set the hit on him in the first place."

     "Okay okay that is a lot of assumptions," The phoenix scoffs, but it was pretty evident that a part of him believed it too. "Yes yes and while why we argue about that, let's go do it in the elevator," You cut in, turning on your heels and jogging towards it before any more surprises could come. "Title of your sex tape."

     "Still gross."

     In the end you all managed to reach Layla's floor without accident, looking around corners and slowly starting to become one of them trying to look for her lab. This was probably not a good idea anymore, seeing as there was a threat in the building and they wanted what you currently had. Elijah wasn't in any way in the wrong here, and you felt kind of bad still forcing him to be in the same building as a person—or even people—that wanted him dead. And worst of all dragging other people into this.

     And by people you only meant Blue. Dabi and his weird choice of friends didn't really seem to mind.

     "There you are!" Speak of the devil, there was the chemist. She was in the middle of adjusting her coat when you approached her, tugging on the collar of her turtleneck before walking past you. "I just have to show face for the announcement thing. Don't touch anything, my recorder's on the table, I have a list of questions for him listed," She points to Elijah without even bothering to look at him, "Taneo and the other dude are inside." As she walked away you heard her mumble something about learning Japanese, speeding up to a jog before she disappeared to head to the elevator.

     "Wait. . !" You sighed in frustration when she was already gone, having just remembered of the situation downstairs and realizing that they might be on the lookout for her as well. She had an entire conversation with their apparent boss, and if he saw her with Elijah he would no doubt get suspicious. "I have to go warn her," You whisper, biting your tongue in thought and in hesitation. "Maybe I should just text her?" Turning to Dabi for help wasn't that good of an idea, only earning a shrug, "It's your call, babe."

     "Alright I'll text her," You sigh out, almost begrudgingly so before letting yourself inside the laboratory. 

     . . .

     And already you hated it.

     Cold air still blasted inside the same as you remember it, only now noticing the rumbling of the air conditioner now that you were directly face-to-face with it. "Turn it off."

     "You're the boss," The phoenix raises his hands in surrender, walking over to do so. Huh, he didn't even try to protest. "This place is hella cramped," Compress announces like he had been with you the entire time, sitting next to Taneo as it was obvious they were in a chat. "He's cool, he's a journalist. Did you know that he can make cameras from his hands?" Taneo lifts a palm, a lens popping up as Shigaraki showed just the slightest bit of interest. "Weird."

     "But cool, he says it's cool," He tells him, obviously trying not to have him weirded off by their less-than-enthusiastic leader. Wow. Now that was an example of an unlikely friendship.

     You shake your head, silently thanking Dabi for turning off the hell-sent machine and picking up the clipboard the chemist had left behind. You almost dropped it actually, the moment you made contact with it. God! It's official, you hated the cold. Loathed it, despised it. Why is everything so cold?!

     "Wow, that's an actual exam," Dabi laughed with exaggeration as he read from behind and over your shoulder, taking in a deep breath and trying to ignore the feeling of his chest rumbling against you when he did so. 

     . . .

     This was just a side effect of the drugs. Yup. Just messing with your hormones and making you hyper aware of your interactions with the—attractive—man behind you. Nothing else.

note ; just had a better idea for a better smut, i'm going with it mueheheheheh

HOPE YALL ENJOYED????? AHAHAHDOIAHFAHIFIA