A/N: I decided to do a prequel rather than a sequel to The Last Laugh since I thought the original ending was good. Also, I have an eBook on Amazon called Sketches and I would really love it if you guys checked it out!
Bruce waited patiently for Alfred to emerge from the manor and take him to the circus. Today was the first time he had gone since his parents had died. Alfred exited the manor and approached the large black limousine and opened the back door for Bruce. Bruce got into the car and marveled at how large the car was. Years of riding in it and he still wasn't used to being transported in anything so huge. Alfred started to drive and Bruce allowed himself to relax. It was just the circus, after all.
They arrived at the newly set up circus almost an hour later. It wasn't very big, with one huge tent meant for the performers and audience, a collection of beat-up old trailers, and some filthy pens that must have been used for housing the animals. As he got out of the car, Bruce realized just how bleak the place was. On the outside, it exuded happiness, but he could see that the people living here were truly suffering. He watched the performance in the big tent with distaste until he saw a young snake charmer walk out. The boy had fiery red hair, an infectious grin, and green eyes that sparkled with mischief. Bruce was immediately smitten and was now paying rapt attention to the boy. The boy did several tricks with a boa constrictor he was holding, such as putting it in his mouth, but the real magic was when he had the snake go into his clothing, and he emerged completely unharmed. After about 15 minutes, the boy did a sweeping bow and exited the stag quickly. Bruce was disappointed, he wanted to see more of the boy, he had to see more. He resolved to try and find the boy once the show was over.
About an hour later, the announcer finally announced that the performance was over, and asked the guests to come back when they were in town again. Bruce hopped up from his seat and immediately went to find the boy, oblivious to Alfred's shouts for him. He wandered towards the beat-up trailers and walked around aimlessly until he heard someone crying. Walking towards the trailer, he noticed it was the boy from the performance. His eyes were puffy, his hair was messy, and he had a huge bruise on his otherwise perfect face. Bruce cautiously approached, not wanting to alarm the boy.
"Why are you crying?" he asked quietly. The boy looked up and nearly jumped with fright at seeing the young billionaire before him. He mumbled something unintelligible while looking at his feet, his face scrunched up in pain. "My name's Bruce Wayne," Bruce offered his hand towards him and he took it, his own grip shaky.
"J-Jerome Valeska" he seemed almost unable to form the words as he looked Bruce up and down. Bruce didn't even have to inquire about the bruise; he knew those didn't come from accidents. Bruce sat next to Jerome on the step leading up to the trailer and awkwardly patted his back, trying to comfort him even though he didn't know the boy. "Why are you being so nice to me?" asked Jerome, staring at him suspiciously.
"I saw you performing in the tent. I was walking around when I heard you crying and I saw the bruise on your face. I know how those things happen and I thought you could use some help" Bruce tried to sound convincing, offering Jerome a disarming smile that seemed to calm him.
"I guess I've just never had a friend before. Or anyone really. Would you like to be my friend?" Jerome smiled as the words tumbled out. Bruce nodded in reply as Alfred started calling him again.
"I'm afraid I must go, but I really would love to see you again, Jerome" he dusted himself off and prepared to join Alfred. He felt guilty about leaving Jerome so soon after they had started talking, but Alfred would burst an artery if he didn't come. Jerome's eyes hardened and then softened so quickly that if Bruce hadn't been looking, he wouldn't have been sure it had ever happened.
"Okay, see you soon Bruce" Jerome smiled at him. Bruce heard Alfred calling him once more and turned to leave, smiling at Jerome as he went. As he left, Bruce could have sworn he saw some sort of darkness in Jerome's eyes, but he brushed it off.
Over the next few months, Bruce and Jerome became very close. Everyone at the circus loved him, and supported their close friendship except for one person: that bitch that had the nerve to call herself Jerome's mother. Whenever she saw them together, she would start screaming about how Bruce shouldn't be there since he wasn't a part of the circus. There were times where she even started hitting Jerome, and Bruce never intervened since Jerome asked him not to. Today there were going out on a date to the movies. Jerome had never seen a single movie and Bruce wanted to take him to see his first movie on their first date. Bruce hated to admit it, but he was falling very quickly in love with Jerome.
"You ready to go, my princess?" he laughed as he saw Jerome. Jerome looked very handsome, wearing a new pair of jeans with his hair tousled, and with a shirt that hugged his abs. Jerome laughed in response to Bruce. That was their own inside joke, for one of the performances Jerome was forced to dress up as a princess, and Bruce had never let him live it down. He called him his princess whenever he saw him, and Bruce was his prince. The fairytale aspect of their romance made it all the more funny. They approached the run-down theatre, and Bruce paid for two tickets to see Casablanca.
"You two look very cute together" the ticket lady commented as she saw them together. Jerome laughed as he draped his arm around Bruce, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, causing Bruce to redden. He quickly grabbed their tickets, wanting to avoid any more public displays of affection. They settled in to watch the film, their date complete with popcorn.
"Thank you for doing this, Bruce. I don't know what I would do without you. I know this is all very sudden but I find myself falling quickly, irreversibly in love with you," Jerome confessed, looking at his feet in case his feelings were not returned. Instead of having to face the rejection of his feelings, he was surprised with a hand grabbing his face and with Bruce's lips greeting his own. Their lips molded together as the two boys who loved each other so dearly kissed for the first time. After a minute, they both leaned away, breathless.
"I think the movie's starting" said Bruce awkwardly. He didn't really know what to say after the kiss, it had meant so much to him that he wasn't even sure where he'd begin. They started watching the movie, and Bruce was immediately glad he'd chosen to take Jerome to a movie for their first date. Jerome had never experienced a movie before, and so all of the things that were now mundane to Bruce were exciting to him. Even the special effects were new to Jerome. It was in those moments that Bruce truly hated Jerome's mother. How dare that whore deprive Jerome of so much, how dare she beat him, how dare she even exist. She'll get hers soon. He would make the woman pay, he didn't know how, but he would.
As they walked out of the movie theatre, Bruce found himself feeling rather melancholy; he would have to say goodbye to Jerome and leave him to face whatever beating his mother would have in store. Bruce had begged him several time to stay at the manor, but Jerome was adamant about staying at the circus, he said he was needed there. They approached the run-down trailer park, and Bruce felt his stomach tighten with dread. He had a bad feeling about tonight, like something was about to happen to him or Jerome. He felt a hand grasp his and he looked down to see Jerome holding onto him as they neared his trailer. Bruce gave him a reassuring squeeze and smiled at him in an effort to make him feel better about his mother.
"Mom! I'm home!" Jerome called as they entered the trailer. He looked around and saw a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, as well as several clothes strewn about on the floor. He sighed; this was going to take a while to clean up. Suddenly, he heard stirring in the other room. Suppressing a groan, he went to find his mother as Bruce trailed after him. She was almost unconscious on the couch, with a whiskey bottle placed precariously in her hand, and her dress half on. It was obvious what she'd been doing for the night. Bruce looked at the old whore in disgust; he just couldn't believe that this woman had made Jerome. His sweet, perfect Jerome had come from such a terrible woman as this. She woke up and her eyes immediately focused on the two boys in front of her. Taking a swig from her whiskey, she sat up and stared at them.
"Didn't I tell you not to bring him here anymore Jerome?" she slurred, having not come out of her drunken stupor yet. She got up slowly and started to approach Jerome, who shrunk back.
"You can't tell me what to do Mom. You can't tell me not to bring Bruce her when all you do is fuck clowns next door!" Jerome shouted, his fists balled up in anger. He stared at his mother defiantly, who didn't even speak before she staggered over and slapped him. Jerome fell over from the impact, and began to instinctively try to cover himself with his hands. Bruce watched the scene unfold, feeling utterly helpless to do anything, until he remembered the pocketknife he always had in his pocket.
"How dare you defy me you piece of shit? You're nothing but a worthless street rat who I'm ashamed to even call my son!" Lila shouted at Jerome, hitting him a few times more as he cowered on the ground in fear. This brought Bruce out of his trancelike state as he gripped his knife so hard his hand started to bleed.
"How dare you call him that? He's worth more than you'll ever be! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Bruce's face contorted with rage as he brought his knife out and grabbed the old whore. He stabbed her once in the arm, just to get a feel of it, before stabbing her once more in the stomach. She started to scream and struggle and Bruce started to laugh as her struggles got weaker. Inspired by this, Jerome jumped up from his spot on the ground, grabbed a kitchen knife, and stabbed Lila once in the back before giggling. Bruce stabbed her in the cheek and watched as Jerome finished her off by slitting her throat. Jerome doubled over in laughter as he watched the blood spurt from his mother's corpse, and Bruce's stomach started to hurt from laughing so hard.
Once they had recovered, they realized they had to hide the body. Jerome had returned to his normal self, and they decided to hurl his mother off the bridge before returning from the circus. With the high from killing gone, Bruce had to wonder why he'd had that high in the first place. Shouldn't he be feeling guilty? Sure, she was a whore, but she was still a person. He had killed someone and he felt nothing but joy. Sometimes he wondered if he and Jerome were so good together after all.