Bad Habits (An Adoption AU story)

Chapter 4: Craving's Call

Stan sat in his office, writing out a report. As he sat there writing away, the cravings hit. He felt as if each time, the headaches were getting worse. Then came the anxiousness. He felt as if he was losing a grip on things. He found himself checking the clock over and over again.

Stan got up and started for the door. As he began to open it, it didn't.

"Ah, come on," he said, pulling at the knob, "Open you useless thing!"

The irritability stage had kicked in. As he calmed down, Stan remembered once again that the door needed to be pushed open, not pulled. He opened it and walked out.

"Hey, Mr. Pines," called Wendy.

Stan quickly looked over to the register, "Oh...hey, Wendy," he said.

"Are you okay?" the teen asked, "You look terrible...like worse than usual!" she kidded.

"Oh, I'm fine," replied Stan, "You know, quitting smoking is not the easiest thing to do."

"Yeah...I can see."

"Do yourself a favor kid, just don't light one up even for fun."

Stan was not one to give out life advice, and he was certain Wendy was smart enough to know never to pick up a habit as bad as smoking, but he still found comfort in warning her of its dangers.

"Ah, don't worry about me, Mr. Pines," she replied, "Smoking isn't even considered cool anymore...now it's all about vaping!"

"Well, don't do that either!!" Stan demanded more harshly than intended, as clear by Wendy's expression,

Stan took a deep breath, "I-I think imma go for a walk...keep an eye on the shack, okay?"

Wendy laughed a bit at her boss's clear discomfort as she nodded her head.

Stan hoped that a stroll through town would help him with his cravings. But as he walked outside, he was met with an all too familiar, and unpleasant smell.

Over by the parking lot, he could see several older tourists smoking. It wasn't an abnormal sight, since there weren't any signs prohibiting smoking on his property. But as he was trying to quit, the sight and smell only fuelled his craving and withdrawal symptoms.

He was just about to cave when his eyes caught something, it was Mabel. She was sitting in the kitchen of the shack. She looked just as miserable as him as she half-heartedly nibbled on some celery.

She was still trying, and that was enough of a push to convince him to keep trying.

"Hey!" he yelled, "No smoking on Mystery Shack property!"

The tourists looked on at Stan. As the results of his outburst began to be processed, Stan held himself back. Instead, he proceeded with his planned stroll through town to take his mind off smoking.

"Come on, Stanley," he said to himself, "You gotta do this. You gotta kick this smoking habit of yours in the butt. Mabel's counting on you."

But even a walk-through Gravity Falls was not much help to him. Faced with quitting, to Stan, it felt like there were more smokers in Gravity Falls than normal. Every time he saw anyone partaking in the habit, he couldn't help but feel cravings hitting him.

That evening, Stan gave the nicotine gums the doctor recommended a try. After chewing it, he felt a lot better. But deep down, he still felt as if those cravings were still there. The road to recovery was not going to be an easy one.

At that moment, Mabel sat by his side silently as she gave him a small smile and took out her own sugar-free bubble gum (since finally getting her braces out, gum was a favorite treat or hers, of course, her favorite brands were typically filled with sugar).

But the two of them knew the road to recovery was paved with baby-steps...baby-steps the two were determined to take together.