So, it's still Father's Day on the West Coast. I'm going to use that time zone in lieu of my own so that I can still count this as on time. Happy Father's Day to all those who celebrate it this month (and to all those who this comes to early). This does follow canon. I hope you all enjoy!

The Job He Never Wanted

One-shot

"Well, I guess there's no swing today."

Two simultaneous whines were all the response he needed to know this day wasn't quite going to plan. It was supposed to be a fun day. Hinata was out on a mission and it was just three of them at home, so they had all planned on having the best day ever so as not to miss her too much. Now, as Naruto looked down to see his children pouting at the old play spot, it would seem their plan had been for naught.

Quite simply, the wood was rotting.

Naruto heaved a great sigh and looked forlornly down at the old swing. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. He had noticed over the past few years how the wood seemed to crinkle and crumble. It was really old, and it was only natural that after so many years the swing would begin to deteriorate. Even the rope didn't look safe anymore, frayed and tearing as it was. A good tug would probably be enough to rip it from the tree.

"Sorry, you two," Naruto said. "I know you wanted to play on the swing."

Heck, he'd wanted to play on it. It was his swing. He'd been the only one to use it during the Academy and it had rather become known as Naruto's spot during those dismal days. It had been his friend when no one else had wanted to be near him. And now, to see the wood falling apart, was more than a little upsetting.

"Can't we do one push?" Boruto begged.

Reluctantly, Naruto shook his head. "Sorry, Boru. The swing's broken. It would fall apart."

"But-" he broke off with a huff.

"Daddy fix it?" Himawari piped up. He little face looked so hopeful.

"Sorry, Hima. Daddy doesn't think it can be fixed," and the way her expression fell made Naruto feel like scum. "We could go to the swings at the park," he suggested, hoping to brighten them up.

"But they're not good swings!" Boruto stated, crossing his arms. "They're all creaky."

"Yeah, creaky," Himawari copied. She mirrored her brother's stance, wobbling a bit on her little legs, but managed to stay upright. A breeze swept across the Academy grounds, moving the swing just slightly. Naruto swore he saw the rope loosen.

"Then I don't know what to tell you," Naruto said.

"You'll fix it?" Boruto hinted, blue eyes shinning up at him.

Naruto shook his head – his children were certainly persistent – and smiled softly in that way adults always did when explaining something to a five-year-old. "It's too old. It can't be fixed."

"Oh," the little boy bit his lip in contemplation. "Can we make a new one?"

"Hm?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "A new one?" His gaze slid over to analyze the swing. It was all very simple; a plain plank of wood attached to the tree branch by thick rope, a complicated knot the only think keeping it semi-functional. It wouldn't be too hard to make a new one. "Well, I don't see why we couldn't try."

Both his children's faces broke out into wide smiles as they squealed in delight.

"Really, daddy? You mean it?" Boruto asked. His hand curled around Naruto's own as he swung it back and forth in excitement.

Naruto chuckled. "Sure, why not. But I'm going to need some very good helpers for the job. Do you know where I could find some?"

"Me!" Both children cried, jumping up and down. "Me, me, me!"

"You?" Naruto asked, pretending to be surprised. "Oh no, it's going to be much too hard, 'ttebayo. Better if we find someone else."

"No~!" Himawari whined. "We do, daddy!"

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Well, if you're sure," he teased. "I guess we can do it. What do you think we need first?"

His children's faces scrunched up in consideration. It was both amusing and adorable how seriously they were taking this. Himawari's little lips lay in a pout and her forehead was scrunched as the three-year-old observed the old swing. Boruto, in a hilarious spin on his mother's old nervous habit, began to poke his index fingers together, a sure sign he was in deep thought.

"We need a new swing," the boy eventually said and Naruto hid a snort.

He nodded his head. "That's a good start, Boru. But how are we going to find a new swing?"

"Oh," the boy mumbled and settled back into his thinking stance.

Naruto chuckled. He looked down at his daughter and shook her hand a bit to get her attention. "What do you think, Hima? How are we going to get a new swing?"

"As' mama?" Was her reply and Naruto felt he should have expected it. When in doubt the answer was always to ask mama. Unfortunately, that wasn't really an option this time.

"Without asking mama."

"As' 'ruka-jiji?" The little girl said, and Naruto was about to tell her to think of something else, when Boruto jumped and shouted.

"Yeah, 'ruka-jiji will know! Come on, daddy!" And suddenly Naruto was being dragged across the Academy grounds to the front door.

"Boruto, wait-" but his son didn't listen and Himawari had been quick to join in the 'drag daddy along' train.

They pulled him in through the open gate and into the wide hallways of the Academy. Classes had been out for about an hour, and Naruto hoped Iruka was still here, at least so that his children wouldn't be disappointed. They really loved Iruka.

"'Ruka-jiji!" Boruto shouted, his sister's cry coming not a second later. Naruto's hands immediately went cold at the sudden loss of his children's hands, but he paid it no mind as he took in the scene before him.

Iruka, fresh from the teacher's lounge with ink stains splattered across his face from frantic grading, was now kneeling on the ground, each arm wrapped lovingly around the children. A big smile had spread itself across the teacher's face as he greeted them.

"Boruto-chan, Hima-chan! What are you doing here? I didn't know you were in school yet. You need to stop getting so big," the man teased, squeezing them a bit and making them giggle.

"We're not in school, jiji! We're with daddy," Boruto corrected. He pointed his finger to his father and Naruto took that as his cue to speak.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei," he said, grinning.

"Naruto," the man smiled back. "I didn't know you were so eager to get your children into school."

"Ah, you know me, Iruka-sensei. I loved school." He scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly.

"Oh, yes, I remember perfectly just how much you enjoyed being in the classroom."

"Eh-heh, yeah." Naruto's eyes flickered away so he wouldn't have to meet Iruka's amused face. He could just imagine what the man was thinking. Clearing his throat, he attempted to change the subject. "But the kids actually have something they wanted to ask you, don't you guys?"

"Yeah!" Boruto called, his sister echoing him. "We want a new swing!"

Iruka's eyes widened. "A new swing?"

Boruto nodded his head, vigorously. "Daddy said the old one is bad. We can't play on it."

"Oh really? I didn't know that. Well, how are you going to make this new swing?"

The children shrugged. "We don't know. Do you know, 'ruka-jiji?"

"Hmm," Iruka scratched at his scar in pretend contemplation. "I guess the first thing you're going to need is some wood."

"Wood?"

"Yes," and he leaned in as if imparting some great secret. "You see, I know for a fact that the best swings are made out of wood. This way they're like swinging with the tree."

The children gasped. Whirling around, Himawari stated, "Daddy, need wood!"

"I think that's a great idea, Hima," Naruto agreed. "But where are we going to get the wood?"

"At t'e, umm…" she trailed off and turned to Iruka. "Where t'e wood, jiji?"

"I'm glad you asked, Hima-chan. The Academy has a lot of logs out back we can look through." And then the man was standing, grasping hold of each child's hand.

"Come on, daddy!" Himawari shouted back and Naruto laughed.

He strode closer and took hold of Himawari's hand so that the four were now standing in a rather cramped line in the hallway. "Better Hima?"

"Yes!"

Then they were off, walking through the Academy at an awkward pace – almost too fast for the children, but too slow for the adults. The logs were situated near the back of the school, close to the training grounds, but far enough away that they wouldn't get obliterated by every passing fight. A huge pile welcomed them and Boruto and Himawari flew off with abandon, both wanting to find the perfect log to make into a swing. It took a while, but after a good half hour of "it's not big enough," and "it's ugly," the two finally reach a consensus. Picking a particularly large log from the group, the children had to grasp both ends to carry it over to their father.

"Daddy, daddy, we found it," they shouted as they staggered across the grass.

Naruto and Iruka shared a smile as the two presented the log to them, and Naruto bent down to take it into his hands. "Wow, this a really good one. It's really big, too."

"Mmhm," Boruto nodded. "We can make a big swing. So we can both sit on it."

Their father's eyes brightened. "A swing for two, huh? You're really good at this, 'ttebayo."

The children beamed.

"So, what do we do now, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, turning to smirk at his old teacher. "You are our resident swing expert."

"Oh, hush you," Iruka replied sardonically. Naruto chuckled and threw his children a wink. "But if you really want to know, I think it's time we cut it."

"Cut it?" Boruto asked, staring at the huge log in his father's hands.

"Yes. We can't have you swinging on that log, now can we? You'd fall right off," he said. "A good swing is always made with a long plank and then sanded until smooth."

So the group made out to cut the wood into a plank. The children, taking Iruka's words for law, tried everything in their power to find the best method. Unfortunately, being only five- and three-years-old respectively, Boruto and Himawari weren't allowed near anything sharper than a spoon. The problem was eventually solved by a bit of showing off on Naruto's part. Channeling wind chakra to his fingers, the father made quick work of the log, cutting it into a pretty spectacular plank, if he did say so himself. He even added a little spiral pattern to the corners for embellishment. Iruka shook his head in exasperation, but the children seemed suitably impressed and so Naruto considered it a success. He even managed to smooth the wood over with a mix of wind chakra and some subtle prodding with his prosthetic arm.

With the plank made and holes drilled in, Iruka disappeared into the equiptment shed, only to reemerge a moment later with an impressively thick spool of rope. Naruto bet he could probably suspend a swing from the top of the Hokage Mountain with the amount he could see. Of course, the kids immediately started dancing around in excitement. Rope symbolized the fact that they were ready to put the swing together and they couldn't be happier.

"Daddy, we gon' swing!" Himawari exclaimed. She hugged the plank of wood to her chest, the wood almost taller than she was.

Naruto let out a laugh and ruffled her hair. "We certainly are Hima-hime. Should we go put it together?"

"Yeah!" Came the dual shouts, and then they were off running. Himawari almost tripped and fell, plank still in her hands, but Boruto quickly came to her rescue, grabbing the other end so they could run together.

Naruto smiled at the sight.

"Come on, Naruto," Iruka said, coming up behind him. "We can't let them beat us there."

No, no they certainly couldn't. Exchanging devilish grins born from years of childish pranking, the two adults waited just another minute before performing a quick shunshin to reappear next to the old swing, seconds before Boruto and Himawari emerged from the school. The children stopped short, staring at the two shinobi they had been sure they'd left in the dust.

"How did you do that?" Boruto whined.

His father chuckled and raised a finger to his lips. "Ninja magic," he said, and Boruto huffed. Naruto reached out to ruffle his hair, before turning to the tree to get a good look at the old swing. It really was falling apart.

Naruto grasped hold of the new wood and rope, and made the relatively short leap up to the branch. Placing the items close to the trunk so they wouldn't fall, he reached over to untie the knots on the old swing. Of course, this proved a lot harder than expected and Naruto eventually exchanged untying it for taking the easy route. Using a fine thread of wind chakra, he cut the ropes at their knots and grabbed them before they could fall. Worn, rotting wood soon lay in his fingers and Naruto couldn't help himself from rubbing his hands along the plank. He made note of all the chips and flakes, the holes that dotted along the seat. It was funny to think that he'd spent most of his childhood sitting on this old thing. He almost didn't want to get rid of it.

"Daddy!" The shout jolted him out of his musings and down to his children. "Daddy the swing!"

Oh, right.

Naruto ran his fingers over the old plaything once more before setting it aside in favor of the new one. He cut the rope to allow room for knotting, and then severed it again. Creating a bowline knot on each one, he attached them to the tree and ran each cord through to create a running bowline. Once he had them secure around the branch he continued to weave the lines through the holes in the plank until they were secured.

"Alright!" He called down to his audience. "Get ready to catch it."

And immediately Boruto and Himawari were reaching their hands up to catch the falling swing. Not wanting to accidently hurt them, Naruto made sure Iruka was also at the ready before letting it go. In no time the new swing was positioned proudly at a perfect height for any child wishing to use it.

It just so happened that his children would be the first.

"You did it, daddy!" Boruto cried, running towards the tree.

"I think you mean we did it, Boruto," Naruto said. He held the old swing and rope in his hands as he jumped back to the ground. "You and Himawari were the perfect assistants."

Both children grinned at the compliment, immensely proud that their father thought they did so well, but their attention was then quickly rerouted to the swing swaying oh so temptingly in the breeze. They looked pleading to their dad.

"Daddy, we go swing now?" Himawari asked.

Naruto gave a quick tug at the rope, making sure it held, before smiling and giving the girl a sharp nod. "It's all set. Do you need help getting on?"

"No!" They yelled and barreled forwards. Boruto climbed on first and then helped his sister get her short legs onto the seat. The plank was just big enough for the two of them.

"Pus' us, daddy, pus' us!" Himawari called out. Her one arm held tightly to the rope while the other held onto her brother's back. Boruto, likewise, had one arm wrapped around her so he could hold both ends.

"Alright, alright," he chuckled. "Are you both holding on tight?"

"Yes!"

"Then here we go!" And suddenly the courtyard was alive with laughter and squeals of delight as the two children were launched into the air.

Iruka placed himself beside his old student as the blond continued the rhythm of pushing the swing. For a moment, the two stood in silence, listening to the sounds of childish joy, until Iruka maneuvered to place his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Who would have thought that the troublemaking little brat I used to see sitting here every day would turn out like this," he said, brown eyes twinkling.

Naruto scowled. "Oi," he grumbled, as the sound of laughter became a soothing background noise.

"Oh, don't deny it," Iruka snorted, making an obvious attempt to hide a smile. It didn't last long. He squeezed the blond's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Naruto – immensely proud of you. Only a few years ago it was you on the swing, and now you're not even a year away from getting your face on the monument."

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto mumbled, feeling a blush rise at his cheeks.

"No, no. It's true. I am very proud of all that you've accomplished, Naruto. You are still my precious student; I have a right to be proud."

"Even when my best accomplishments include building a swing?"

Iruka barked a laugh. "Especially when they include building a swing."

Naruto tossed him a smile and the two were interrupted by a call of, "Higher, daddy, higher!"

"Alright, alright!" And he pushed them just a little bit harder. Naruto watched them for a moment before turning bright eyes back to his old teacher.

"You know, Iruka-sensei, out of all my accomplishments, I think this is one of my best yet."

"Making a swing?"

"Yeah." Because he built it for his children. He made it for his family, with his family, and out of everything, that's what made him the happiest. "I always dreamed of being Hokage – everyone knows that – but I never dreamed of this. And I think…I think if I had to choose between being Hokage and being a father, I'd choose being a father every time. There's nothing quite like it."

"No," Iruka gazed at him softly, knowingly. "No, I guess there isn't."

The sound of laughter erupted again as the children reached a new height. Naruto sighed, taking in their joy as if it were his own. Iruka's hand felt warm on his shoulder, and even if Hinata wasn't here right now, he could feel the weight of his wedding band around his neck and smiled.

Being a father had never been a job he'd wanted. It had never even been a job he'd considered. But now, as he saw the delight blossom on his children's faces, he knew it was the one job he never wanted to lose.

The old swing lay behind him on the ground, it's job finished, and he watched the new one come back down.

He gave another push.

And that's it! I hope you all enjoyed and thank you for reading. Please review, but don't flame – they don't help writers improve. Have a wonderful night/day everyone!

~Alabaster Ink