Waking up with a start, Daru hyperventilates, taking in deep breaths.
The dream of betrayal has him sweaty and gasping. Rubbing his head, he gets up to sit, then turns towards the door.
Groaning at the memory and walking so abruptly, Daru replies, "In a moment."
"Alright." Now listening more clearly, he notices the voice to be of a young teenager… probably Luke.
When he hears the footsteps lead to silence…
Daru closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. He opens his now ablaze eyes…
"Count your days, 'cause soon I will fuck you all up."
Taking the clothes that had been kept, he dresses up…
Now a bit more refreshed, Daru walks down…
Looking around, he sees the stars and characters that he had seen on TV back in his previous world. It was a novel experience, to say the least.
Now almost reaching the ground floor, he sees just ahead of him, a white boy with innocence plastered on his face talking to a cute Asian girl. While he was speaking, looking into space, the girl next to him seemed to be scrolling her phone with a deadpan expression. Daru rightfully identifies them to be Luke and Lily respectively. Opposite to them sat Chesty Alex reading her book…
To the right end, in the open kitchen, he saw his beautiful sister with another beautiful girl that seems to be at the age of turning into a beautiful woman. The girl checks all the boxes of his image of Haley…
Both look to be having a pleasant conversation, with sweet smiles resting beautifully on their faces. All that he knows about his sister and if he understands Haley's character right, than that would be their most genuine smiles, that only come to grace with people they trust and are comfortable with…
Or he might be wrong, with both having the potential to fool anyone with their charm and smiles so bewitching that they might be birth daughters of temptation incarnate.
Looking towards the couch, he saw the old pickle who is supposedly so charming that he bagged someone like Gloria.
Cause he sure doesn't look any good or healthy; he resembles more like someone nearing his deathbed. 'Ha,' Daru let an internal sigh.
It might take time for him to wrap his head around their relationship and come to terms with why Gloria chose him. It might not have been any of his concern when all this was only a show for him. But now, knowing he is so intrinsically her brother, he wants to question her decision.
His most viable guess is it has something to do with her son.
Thinking of the fat sack of pretention, he looks around the room once more but couldn't find anyone matching a brown kid turd."
(An: maybe a bit harsh.)
Not finding him he looked again towards the couch's facing the TV, now not looking at Muk but the man next to him.
A smile formed on his face looking at the character he adored for all that flavor he brought to the show.
Any room he walks into becomes so much more vivid with his inclusion…
I mean who wouldn't love Cam…
Looking at the TV, it seems Jay is watching the game with the son he never had…
While not really…
Now walking towards the kitchen from the far corner, he can hear a woman screaming or to say scolding someone. With most of the modern family here, he assumes the woman to be Claire.
The other voice mediating and placating her anger must be the residential lawyer Mitchell.
He can almost picture them with how distinct their voices are…
The woman's voice having that inherent power and the man's voice high with a unique touch…
'All this seems so alive… is it because they are something important to the world… food for thought maybe…'
And he didn't even have to guess who the person she was shouting at was.
Unquestionably, it should be Phil.
'I love the guy and all, and would love to have a conversation with the rizzagator, but the tension that's coming from the corner seems too much for now.'
Deciding it would be better to get acquainted with the trio a bit later.
For now, he wanted to talk to the hot ladies in the kitchen… I mean when does he not.
He walks into the kitchen and announces himself.
"Hey…"
Both Gloria and Haley turn to him, Gloria with a smile and Haley after looking at him with a new twinkle that he certainly recognizes all too well.
"The dinner is almost ready, so I wanted you to meet all my family," said Gloria, then turning to the side and pointing her hand towards the only other person in the kitchen, she introduces, "This is Haley… she is Jay's granddaughter."
"Hello," Haley calls out with her hand outstretched.
"Hey, nice to meet you," said Daru.
"Nice to meet you too."
"Gloria how come you never mentioned you had a brother, and one such hot…"
"… Well, I thought he died."
"Hey, that hurt."
"More than us."
"Fair enough."
Haley looked at them both in confusion.
"It's a long story I'll tell you another time… or maybe at the dinner…" said Gloria patting her shoulder.
While they were talking, Jay and Cameron walk towards them after having noticed him.
"Hey, you must be Daru, I am Jay, Gloria's husband."
Controlling his urge to punch his face, Daru does a light introduction of himself.
Talking to Jay, he feels this animosity towards him, first he thought 'rightfully so, with how ambiguous their relationship with his in this life was and then the inclusion of memories of his past life.
'Shit's complicated.'
Don't really know how it usually is with reincarnators but all of it feels too raw for him. The emotions come in droves.
"Hey Jay, I say you are one lucky guy."
"Ha…" Jay mumbles something with a chuckle.
Well, his stiff expression not putting aside Gloria's lip twitching. Anyone would be able to tell that something is up.
Well, everyone but one. And contrary to what a lot of people think, it would be Manny and not Luke.
Cameron being the sharpest person in sniffing out the emotion, tidbit, beef, issue, came in clutch to lighten the moment.
"And I am Cameron, Jay's son-in-law."
"Well, don't tell Mitchell but I am more like the son he never had."
"Cameron, heard a lot about you…" I have never heard of him at all. At least this life that is. But I know it would be fun getting to know him.
Looking at his expression after his reply, from what he knows about Cameron, he should now be bubbling inside to know what I have heard about.
"Were you a fan of Fizbo? Well, that might be sad I have not come out as him for a long while and might never will…" Cameron scrunches his face in utter sadness.
And not a second later he snaps a look back at him. "Or was it the Neighbors' Christmas Caroler that has been talking behind my back again. It might also be people from the Farmmarket, I knew they would have traced me back."
"Tell me, tell me what horrible lies have they been spreading about me. It's about my weight, is it not."
[AN: I don't like manny well not the show counterpart but the one I had envisioned for this story… don't know if all that would come to light but know that there might be a bit bias against him. And fyi… if you have still not caught on… nothing in this fanfic will follow the canon… not the characters, not the plot not even the ages… well for ages, just consider all them adults, except lily…]