Impractical Jokers: [Joker]xReader Collection

Joe x Reader - The Christmas Charade

Goddamn your good nature. Your dear friend James was hosting a Christmas party and you had been roped into going. It wasn't the fact that you didn't want to go but that your ex was going too. He had moved on, gained a new partner and built a life with her while you remained alone; little shame was reaped from being single but you certainly didn't want to face him in all of his shine.

And so you're standing like a fucking lemon in the middle of a room where people are chattering and exchanging presents and kissing one another under mistletoe before collecting drinks and hiding behind groups whenever he passes. In all of his attractive glory, you feel even more uneasy.

When you bump into Murr, he gives you a bright smile. "Hey, [Y/N]. nice to see you made it!"

"Nice to be here..."

He catches onto your discomfort, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pressing a friendly kiss to your temple. Smiling softly at his affection, you reach your hand out and pat his chest. "Have a good time, [Y/N]. Plenty of drink if nothing else."

And then he's away, sweeping through the crowd and rejoining with a circle of friends that whoop enthusiastically at his arrival. You can't help but smile, overtaken by fondness as he raises his glass and throws it back with the others, stumbling lightly when they all toast to a New Year. His sweet giggle filling the house.

"Hey, [Y/N]."

And instantly your spine is a block of ice. Damn it, you've been caught. The very man you'd been avoiding all night stands in front of you attractive as ever, with an equally pretty girl on his arm who offers you a smile as plastic as the cup you hold. She's obviously unhappy about her boyfriend running into his ex, perhaps as unhappy about it as you are and for that reason you can only work up light frustration towards her.

"Hey, [Ex's Name]. Been a while," you mumble, taking a sip of your drink so as to have an excuse to remain quiet for longer. He chuckles, smiles that smile that you'd fallen for all those years ago. "I gotta go... meet up with–"

"Got a new man?" he asks, making a show of pressing a tender kiss to his girlfriend's lips before glancing back at you. You begin to burn with embarrassment; how dare he show you up like this?! You're about to vocalise your discomfort, to tell him to shove it because it doesn't matter and his attempts to make you seethe with jealousy aren't working when you feel an arm sling around your shoulders.

"There ya are, [Y/N]!" the stranger coos, pressing a kiss to your cheek. Your ex raises his eyebrows, surprise outlining his face as he looks from you to the attractive man and back again. "Lost ya in the crowd - always were small."

You giggle nervously, pretending to curl into his chest lovingly - and quietly seethe: "How drunk are you?"

"Don't drink," he murmurs back, brilliant blue eyes meeting yours like electricity meeting its wire: fizzling, sparking, sending shivers down your spinal column and warmth to your stomach. This stranger appears to be saving your ass... and he's attractive as all hell; a little older than your ex but by no means uglier. His presence has your hairs standing up on end– and that smile has you weak in the knees if you let it. "Pleasure to meet ya, bud. Name's Joe."

The two men shake hands, ex looking suspicious while Joe smiles that gorgeous smile and you curl further into his body.

"You been dating long?" [Ex's Name] asks, completely disregarding the nameless female who clings tighter to his arm at her boyfriends spurred interest. Silently, emotionless on the outside, you bask in her discomfort. She may have done nothing wrong but she certainly hadn't made your situation any easier either, giving you dirty looks and a little smirk when you'd fallen quiet after being asked about a new partner. "[Y/N] didn't seem too quick to mention you when I asked..."