New fic again without touching the others yet again! What's new? uvu Anyways, this idea was something I discussed with hayunaki on here ages ago and stumbled upon the notes to a short while ago. I decided I still liked the idea enough to write about it! So I hope you enjoy!

(Rewritten Version posted on October 11, 2017)

It wasn't everyday that Onodera Ritsu was able to get out of the office before night fell.

Summer had begun and days were longer than they had been during most of the time he'd spent making the commute from his apartment to Marukawa's offices. It was strange to think that just about a year ago he had started this job considering just how eventful things had been.

Onodera had been dragged into the world of girls' manga by the ever passionate Maiden Club, his engagement to An had officially been broken off, Nao had come back into his life after many years of hearing nothing from him, and Takano―previously Saga― of all people was now his boss, neighbor, and kind-of-lover.

He was always giving it his all, whether it be in the workplace or to keep to his own personal promises to himself to the point where sleeping and eating to become a nuisance at times; however, giving it your all couldn't save you from particular problems that sprung up every now and then.

Onodera's current predicament was a testament to this through and through.

On one of the few days that he got out of work at a reasonable time―having to stop himself from making a fool out of himself with just how good his mood was as he approached the apartments―he found himself before his door without a key.

It had to be a dream, right?

Nightmare would be more fitting, he told himself as he pinched himself a few times to be sure that this was reality.

After emptying out the contents of his bag and feeling up and reaching into every pocket on his person, the key was still nowhere to be found.

Really though, the one time in weeks that he had managed to make it out of the office this early and life had to remind him that things didn't like to go his way. This was such a disaster! How would he get into a nice change of clothes from one of those yet to be folded piles? How would he get that extra sleep he had worked so hard for? And just how would he get to eat the instant ramen that he had in the convenience store bag he had picked up on the way here?

Anything that could go wrong felt like it was doing so, and panic began to set in as all sorts of horrible scenarios drowned out any rational thought.

Just why did these things always happen to him?

As he gathered up all his things in his bag, thinking about just what he possibly could've done in this or any previous incarnation of life to deserve what was happening right now, his phone dinged to indicate a text being delivered.

Onodera pulled out the device to read over whatever new messages he was receiving. Nao's name along with a smile emoji he had added popped up as he unlocked the phone. Nao had been out of town for the day because he was collecting pictures for work and would be gone for at least two more as far as the brunet was informed.

[From: Nao (*^o^*)]

[The weather here in Osaka is very humid, but thankfully the sun was out all day. I was able to get lots good pictures and not have a day wasted to rain! I took a lot of pictures, so tomorrow I'm going to go more into tourist mode lol. I've never properly visited Osaka Castle before, so hopefully it will be fun!

After tomorrow, I'm taking a train to Kyoto and staying at a hotel there for two days. One of these days you should come with me on one of these trips! It wouldn't hurt to get some more recent pictures of you for the collection. They're always artistic in their own way. (*＾v＾*)

See you soon, Ritsu! ^^]

Scrolling down to the photos, he felt a smile creep onto his face on despite how sour his mood had been only moments ago. Nao never failed to impress him when it came to how skilled he was with a camera.

His phone vibrated again as another picture came in. This time, it was a selfie with the words 'wish you were here' over it taken in front of some sort of store.

And in that moment, Onodera wished that Nao had been there. He would surely take him in for the night. There would be some teasing, but he could live with the bit of embarrassment if it meant not having to go back to work and running into a certain someone after making such a big deal out of getting out early.

Then there was An, who was sure to be willing to assist him yet still shaky territory in that they had only officially broken things off two months ago. And if his mother of all people were to find out about him staying the night with her… he didn't want to think about it.

As much as he didn't want to, he would need to turn to Takano for help this time around. It would be more convenient that way, since he would need to call the landlord in the morning and hopefully be able to get things sorted before the day's end.

Or maybe, luck would be on his side and he just left his key at work and Takano could bring it here for him and save him the trouble of the trip back.

Onodera clicked on Takano's contact and selected call. The few seconds he waited for a greeting were agonizing, letting his mind stray wildly to thoughts such as what if he was already out of the office, on the train, unable to-

"Hello?"

"H-hey, if it isn't too much trouble I was wondering if you could look into something for me."