Self Esteem || Peter Parker

0.5

New York was a city that survived. It weathered the invasion of 2012 and many more minor threats that came there after. The avengers in the centre of the city did seem to draw more threats in. It was a gritty, sharp city that bounced back with surprising resilience.

It reminded Minjoon of Peter, in a way. There was a iron will in that boy he recognised the first moment he met him. It had not been long after the invasion, the city still healing, when Daejoon almost collided with Ben Parker on the stairwell of their apartment building. The lifts had stopped working, not that they ever worked properly anyway, but the may heat was growing into June and the stairwell was one of the cooler parts of the building. It was humid and promising to grow hotter. The AC in their apartment had broken so Daejoon had moved himself and his brother into the concrete and metal stairway. The space was always cold in winter but that day they were cooled by the stone in their backs.

Minjoon was colouring on the floor. Crayons littering the corner where he was sprawled, papers colourful under his hands while the teenager did his homework on the stairs. The sixteen year old dressed down in a pair of shorts and a vest. His feet hidden by battered converse. Minjoon was similar, in a too small tshirt and an oversized pair of shorts that looked more like a skirt due to how baggy they were. (They were actually a pair of Daejoon's that had been shrunk in the wash). It was only the drawstring tied tightly that kept them from falling down. His hair, which was growing long, brushed his neck and fell into his eyes as he coloured.

"Minjoon, let me pin back your hair", Daejoon huffed, reaching for him as his brother blew the strands from his face for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. "Wasn't dad supposed to take you get it cut?" He asked as he began pushing it back to tuck into a set of bobby pins. Minjoon let him with a soft pout.

"He got called away".

Daejoon sighed. Their father always got called away. Above them, a door opened and there were feet on the stairs. Minjoon scurried back to his colouring and set about pushing his crayons out of the way of any potential shoes, Daejoon doing the same with his homework. The colourful wax rolling along the concrete as he sought to grab them all quickly as the footsteps descended the stairs above.

The footsteps stopped and Daejoon looked up to see a man in his mid thirties standing a few steps above them. He was dressed casually in jeans and a tshirt with brown hair swept to the side and a handsome face, chiselled in that classic American way. He seemed kind, in a way that softened him. He seemed confused by the sight of the two boys on the steps, hazel eyes furrowing. "What are you doing on the steps?" He asked, voice rather deep.

"We can move out of the way", Daejoon began packing his homework up.

"No no, you don't need to move. I'm just wondering why you're sat on the steps. Surely it must be uncomfortable".

Minjoon shuffled along the floor to grab for a red crayon that had rolled away. He was stopped by small feet and another hand reaching for it. A boy, brown hair and brown eyes hidden behind thick glasses, held it out to him. "Thank you", Minjoon took it. He hated snapped crayons and was glad that th solder boy had not stepped on it.

"It's cooler in here than our apartment", Daejoon shrugged in answer to the man. He tucked his work back into their folders and stood up. "Come on Minnie, it's time we head back".

Minjoon tucked his handful of crayons back into his pockets and scrambled to pick up his drawing pad. "But it's too hot in there", he whined as he stood up.

"Is your AC not working?" The man asked.

"Why do you ask?" Minjoon felt his brother bristle. The man looked kind but he was still a stranger. The older boy, who must be around eleven, had one hand gripping the man's tshirt. His brown hair was fluffy in the heat and there was a bruise fading on his jaw. He was dressed in a red iron man tshirt and denim shorts that did not hide that he was small for an elven year old. Still much bigger than Minjoon though, and slightly intimidating because of it.

"I'm Ben Parker. I live on the floor above. You must be the Kim's children right? Moved in last year? I fixed your oven a few months ago. I do maintenance for the block in my spare time", the man introduced with an easy going smile.

Daejoon nodded, tension lessoning as he remembered the name. Minjoon didn't remember the name. He was too busy staring at the other boy with blatant curiosity. Ben Parker seemed to notice his gaze. "This is my nephew, Peter".

"Hi", Peter waved. "I'm eleven".

Minjoon grinned and waved back. Peter seemed nice. "I'm Minjoon and I'm six!" He was very proud of being six. "This is my older brother. He's sixteen, which is old".

Peter laughed as Daejoon huffed at being called old. Ben Parker chuckled. "It was nice meeting you Minjoon, and -"

"Daejoon".

-"Daejoon. Let your parents know that if they want their ac looked at, I'm just upstairs. Flat number 7-4. Have a good day". He waved at them before reaching down to tug at the hand on his shirt. Peter let go and grinned at the two of them.

"Bye!" He called as he hurriedly followed his uncle downstairs. Minjoon didn't hear their footsteps fade out as Daejoon was already pulling the door to their floor open.

"Mum should be back soon", he began chattering as he nudged Minjoon through, busy making sure he hadn't forgotten any homework. "She said she'd bring ice cream".

"Ice cream?" Minjoon bounced at the prospect. "Will she bring strawberry?"

"No. She's going to bring chocolate because it's all for me", Daejoon grinned as he began to unlock their door.

Minjoon poured at him. "But I want strawberry".

Daejoon stopped teasing and ruffled his hair. "She'll bring strawberry. I was only joking".

Minjoon set about dropping his drawing supplies back on to the coffee table in the living room once he was back inside. He listened to Daejoon complaining about the lack of breeze from the open windows as the teenager bustled around. The smaller boy picking out red and gold to colour in Ironman, the meeting of their upstairs neighbour gone from his mind.

A day later, Ben Parker was around their house to fix their AC while their mother watched anxiously. In return, she paid him with homemade kimchi and a bowl of stew for the troubles. A month later and the Kim's and Parker's were regularly exchanging favours through the means of maintenance and food. None of the Parker's were the best cooks and Minjoon's parents were always overworked to the point where their second hand appliances often broke from neglect. Then when Peter turned twelve, he began to help Minjoon with his homework and it too off from there.

Looking back, Minjoon wondered when he began to crush on the older boy. It wasn't hard. Peter was kind, always willing to hear him out, listened to him and got him through difficult problems. The older boy was someone closer to his age who he could look up to, other than Daejoon. But still, there was never a time when Minjoon could pinpoint when exactly his feelings for the older boy developed. It was like a switch had flipped. Only he never could turn it off again.

Unedited