Mama Gotham

In July

"Alyssa!" there was a blur of red hair before the ten year old launched himself into her arms.

"Whoa!" Alyssa stumbled slightly, but hugged him back. "Hey J, its good to see you."

"I missed you..." he clung to her light she'd disappear if she let go.

"Missed you too kid." she smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

Every July, Haly's traveling circus came to Gotham City. With her sister in summer camp, Alyssa came to see Jerome every day. They mostly spent their time at the picnic tables catching up on everything that had happened to the other over the year, Jerome delighting in having someone to tell his stories to.

Alyssa had told him about how her parents had been arrested, and her sister taken in by another family. In the limited amount of time he had spent with the younger Connors girl he hadn't liked her much, but he still hugged Alyssa tightly when the sad look came to her face.

He also knew about her friends Edward and Oswald, who lived in the city and were actually her age. Jerome couldn't help feeling jealous of the boys he had never met; they got Alyssa all year round.

Still, he didn't complain. In July, she was all his. He savored his time with her; it was a bright light in his otherwise bleak life.

He'd tell jokes with animated hand gestures, doing anything to get her to laugh.

"That laugh is my favorite sound in the whole world." he told her.

Alyssa blushed and looked down, missing the hunger in the boy's eyes that didn't suit a ten year old.

"Tell me the story of the house again." he requested. One of the first things he'd learned about Alyssa was her dream to leave the city. He loved how passionate she got when talking about the kind of life she'd like to have instead.

"J, I've told you a hundred times." Alyssa chuckled.

"Please?"

"Alright." she said with an amused smile. "So when I get enough money, I'm gonna blow this town. I'll live someplace warm, where it doesn't rain all the time." she glanced up at the near-constant cloud cover over the city. "It'll be a nice town like in the movies, where everybody knows each other and you can go over to anyone's house to play. I'll live in a big brick house covered in ivy."

"With a really long drive way." Jerome grinned, reciting from memory.

"See, I've told you about it so many times you know it by heart." Alyssa shook her head.

"Can I come with you?"

"Huh?" she frowned.

"When you get the big house with the long drive way, I wanna live there too."

"Aw, J...." Alyssa sighed. "Its just a dream. I'm never gonna be able to afford a place like that."

"Yes you will. You're gonna be a famous artist." Jerome said as though it were a universally known fact.

"I-I don't draw for other people to look at-"

"You're a great artist, Alyssa." he cut off her nervous rant. "You can do anything. I just don't want you to forget about me when you move on to bigger and better things." he looked down.

Alyssa looked at him a moment then reached out and took his hand. "Tell you what: no matter what house I end up having when I grow up, there will always be a place in it for you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."