A New Life in Modern Family

I am 15 chapters ahead on my patreón, check it out if you are interested.

https://www.patréon.com/emperordragon

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Chapter 1: A New Life, An Old World

Life, I used to believe, was a series of mundane events punctuated by occasional bursts of excitement. That was before I died.

I don't remember how I died. There was no bright light, no booming voice assigning me to the afterlife. One moment, I was existing in my previous life—a thoroughly average guy with no grand achievements or tragic backstory—and the next, I was Jonathan Hale, a newborn in a world I quickly realized wasn't quite as foreign as it should be.

I didn't panic. I didn't cry. Well, I did cry because I was a literal infant, but mentally, I kept my cool. The first thing I noticed was that my senses were sharp—sharper than they had any right to be. Even before I could properly see, I could hear heartbeats, smell individual scents, and feel the minute temperature shifts in the room. It was disorienting but fascinating.

Then, before I even had time to truly process my situation, life hit me with its first cruel twist. My parents, whom I barely knew, died in an accident before my first birthday. A tragic start, sure, but I barely had time to grieve because I was too busy being adopted by my grandfather, Richard Hale.

Richard Hale was a tough, old-school military man—gruff, disciplined, and stubborn, but fair. He wasn't the warmest person, but he raised me well. It helped that I was an eerily perfect child. My intelligence, reflexes, and memory weren't normal. If I focused on something, it stuck. I absorbed knowledge like a sponge, and my body adapted just as fast.

I decided early on that I wasn't going to waste my second chance. I aced school effortlessly, but I never flaunted it. Being labeled a genius was a hassle, and I wanted a comfortable life, not unnecessary attention. Instead, I focused on what I truly enjoyed—staying fit and learning martial arts. By sixteen, I had mastered multiple disciplines and had the trophies to prove it.

I also made sure that comfort wasn't going to be a problem. The world around me felt eerily familiar, even before I had confirmation of what it was. I remembered brands, companies, and stock market trends from my previous life. So, I casually suggested to my grandfather that he invest in certain companies, dropping hints about "promising technology" and "rising trends." He listened.

By the time I turned sixteen, we were rich. Not billionaire rich, but comfortable-for-generations rich. That meant I had the luxury of doing whatever I wanted without worrying about money. Life was good.

Then, life hit me with its second cruel twist.

My grandfather passed away. It wasn't sudden—he had been getting weaker over the years—but losing him still left a void. For the first time since my rebirth, I felt adrift.

Then came the invitation.

One of my grandfather's old war buddies, a man named Jay Pritchett, reached out and offered to take me in until I turned eighteen. I had no idea who he was at first, but I accepted. Living alone at sixteen wasn't ideal, and I figured it was just a temporary arrangement.

But the moment I arrived at the address and rang the doorbell, the universe decided to punch me in the face with reality.

Jay Pritchett. The Jay Pritchett. The moment he opened the door, I knew. The face, the voice, the sheer presence—it was all too familiar.

I was in the Modern Family universe.

Outwardly, I remained composed. Inside? A mess.

This was a TV show. A sitcom I used to watch for laughs. But here I was, flesh and blood, standing at the doorstep of a man whose life I had watched unfold in episodic format. I wasn't just reborn—I was reborn into fiction.

But I couldn't afford to freak out. Not yet.

Jay looked me up and down, sizing me up like he was evaluating a car he wasn't sure he wanted to buy. "So, you're Richard's grandson?"

I nodded. "Jonathan Hale. You can call me Jon."

He grunted, stepping aside to let me in. "Come on in, kid. You eat steak?"

I blinked at the abrupt question but nodded. "Yeah."

"Good," he said, shutting the door. "Because I don't do salads."

And just like that, my new life in the world of Modern Family began.