"Nobu! Nobu, push us!"
Nobu glanced up from his homework to see one of the kids swinging his legs, trying and failing to get the swing going. The kid's friend was on the second swing, and though he was having a slightly higher success rate, still skimmed the ground with his feet at the highest place.
"I'll finish this and let you copy," Shuuya said, waving his hand dismissively. The two of them had been half-working on homework, half-watching the more outdoors-y kids, and while the children could usually entertain themselves, Nobu was famed for his underdogs.
Well. Sort of.
"Alright," Nobu said. He stood up, brushed grass off of his legs, and jogged over to the swing set. The kid that had been higher up sunk his heels into the ground to be as stationary as his partner in crime.
"Me first!" he said.
"No fair, Daiki, you got to go first last time!" the one who had called out said. "Besides, I got him over here!"
"He's right," Nobu informed the now frowning Daiki. "Don't worry, I'll get to you soon enough."
With that, he fixed his hands on the swing set chain and backed up.
"Ready, Yuuta?"
Yuuta cheered in response.
After a bit of running back and forth to get enough height, Nobu sent the swing sailing up into the air and ducked underneath. Yuuta nearly kicked him in the head on the way back, but Nobu ducked his head again put up a hand to protect himself. Yuuta laughed, high-pitched and gleeful, and Daiki kicked the dirt.
"Nobu!"
Nobu headed over to him, panting a little, and grinned as he grabbed the chain. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
Within moments, Daiki was sailing into the sky alongside Yuuta. The two of them slapped hands as they passed each other, Yuuta straining a little as his height shortened. Nobu grinned as he watched them, breathing hard with his hands on his hips.
"My guess is Daiki'll be the rock star and Yuuta will be the rock star's best friend," Shuuya said. Nobu jumped and turned around. "Because Daiki's better looking."
"Hey- are you-" Nobu sputtered, and Shuuya laughed. Nobu tackled him to the ground, shoving his shoulder into Shuuya's to knock him off balance. "I'm so better looking than you."
"Just keep telling yourself that," Shuuya wheezed. He shoved Nobu off and rubbed his shoulder. "Jesus, man, where'd you get that iron shoulder?"
"Sorry," Nobu said, managing an awkward grin. Yuuta hit the ground a few feet away from them and sprang back to his feet.
"Push me again, Nobu! I wanna jump when it's high!"
Daiki took a flying leap from his swing, too, landing on his hands and knees. He inspected his hands, flicked a few rocks out of his knees, checked for blood, and was back to the swings in about twenty seconds.
"Alright," Nobu said. He stood up and offered a hand to Shuuya. "C'mon, you push Daiki, if you think he's rock star material."
"Gladly," Shuuya said, grasping Nobu's hand and letting Nobu pull him up. "I bet I can push them higher."
"I am famed for my underdogs," Nobu said. "I'll have you know-"
"Nobu! Shuuya! Push!" Daiki called, impatient, and Nobu and Shuuya shared a look before laughing. "Come on!"
Still laughing, the two of them headed over to the swing set. Even though he still wasn't sure if he was ever going to want kids, Nobu thought that taking care of these little guys was one of the best parts of living at the orphanage.
This was written for a user on Tumblr, who wanted Nobu helping out with kids at the orphanage!
