Bad Habits (An Adoption AU story)

Chapter 8: Epilogue: A New Me

As the days went by, it seemed like Mabel and Stan had finally achieved what they both wanted. With Mabel by his side, Stan finally began to kick the habit he had held onto ever since he was alone and on the run. Going slow and steady rather than head on ended up working better, and faster too.

He did still have the experience of withdrawal, as warned by the doctor, but this time, with Mabel fully there for him, he managed to overcome it, and soon, he had gone a week without smoking. Stan could feel himself feeling a lot healthier too. He no longer felt as out of breath as he used to be, and his overall mood became much happier in the process.

As for Mabel, she had promised her brother that she would be able to cut down her sugar consumption by the time him and Ford got home...and she did. Like with Stan, she took it one step at a time now, rather than at once.

Eating healthier was not something she was too fond of still, but by going slow and steady, she managed it. By the time they had returned, Dipper and Ford were faced with a new Mabel and Stan.

A month on, and there was no doubt about it, Mabel and Stan had managed to kick their bad habits for good.

"I swear, I can tell why people are getting fatter these days," said Stan as him and Mabel retuned home from the grocery store one day, "These vegetable prices are ridiculous."

"But you gotta admit, they're worth it," said Mabel as she grabbed one of the bags out of the trunk.

"Yeah, I guess so. But they've gone up in price faster than cigarettes packs. I mean, back when I was your age, they cost about a dime. Now that's about how much I get in change when I pay with cash...if I'm lucky."

Both of them laughed about it for a bit, before Mabel changed the subject.

"I'm proud of you, Grunkle Stan," she said, "I always knew you could do it."

Stan smiled, "Well, I had the best support team anyone could imagine," he said as he playfully ruffled her hair.

"And don't forget about yourself, pumpkin. You got over your sugar addiction, and that's something worth celebrating too."

"Well, I also had the best support team imaginable," replied Mabel, "Do you think...mom and dad would be proud of me?"

"Of course, they would, sweetie," said Stan lovingly. He knew after their argument that night and her confession; Mabel had much bigger reasons to want to succeed, than just to improve his and her own own health.

"They'd be proud of you for not only fighting your own addiction, but for helping someone else get over their addiction too."

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan," said Mabel.

"Alright, now let's get inside. These bags are getting heavy!"

As Stan and Mabel walked in through the front door, the lights were all off. The moment Stan turned one of them on...

"Surprise!"

Dipper, Ford, Soos, and Wendy were all in the living room, which was covered in balloons and had a giant "Congratulations" sign hanging from the roof.

"What's all this for?" asked Mabel.

"It's for you two, dudes," said Soos as he gave Stan and Mabel a huge hug.

"It's been a month since you both got over your bad habits, so, we wanted to surprise you with a little party," said Dipper as he hugged his twin sister, "I'm so proud of you, Mabel. I always knew you could do it."

"Aww, thanks bro," said Mabel. At that moment, the pain in her side returned. It hurt her, but she didn't want to ruin the moment. Dipper wasn't much of a hugger, and she refused to lose the chance at his affection. But the pain did make her fill up with fear. Why hadn't it gone away yet?

"I must say, Stanley," said Ford, "I didn't think you could do it at first, when Dipper told me you were going to quit smoking. But when he told me Mabel was helping you, I knew you might just pull through."

Stan laughed, "Well, let's just say that I was Mabel's toughest assignment to date."

Everyone began to laugh

"Oh, hey, Mr. Pines," added Wendy as she handed Stan a box, "My dad and some of the other lumberjacks wanted you to have this."

Inside the box was a no smoking sign, hand crafted and painted by Manly Dan, and several other Gravity Falls lumberjacks.

"Lots of them are former smokers too, and they know how hard quitting can be. They wanted you to have this. They said it may help with the number of tourists smoking near the gift shop."

Stan smiled, "Thank you Wendy," he said, "Tell them it's going right there where everyone can see it."

The evening was full of fun and celebration, as all of them celebrated Stan and Mabel overcoming their addictions. For both of them, it was a feeling of accomplishment, and self assurance. They had managed to overcome life defining habits that were only causing more harm than good to them. After all that they had endured so far, their achievements had been, like their past ones, accomplished through one another.

When Stanley Pines had agreed to watch his great niece and nephew for one summer, he never imagined that in the end, they'd be here to stay as his adopted son and daughter, and in the process, they would change his life in such a powerful and positive way.

Later that night, Stan plopped down on his longue chair. As he sat there, a now former smoker surrounded by his loving family, he felt that he truly had achieved in life everything that he ever wanted.

"Hey, Grunkle Stan," Mabel's tiny voice came from the stairs, "you still up?"

"Yeah, pumpkin," he whispered, "But I think I'm gonna go to bed now, right here."

"Me too," she replied, subtly clutching her still sore side. She was alright, but sore and in need of some emotional comfort for the pain "Uh, by any chance..."

"Climb aboard." Stan said patting his lap. He didn't need to hear the end of Mabel's sentence to know what she wanted.

He lifted Mabel up and let her snuggle under the blanket with him. It filled him with a feeling of comfort and relief to know that Mabel still came to him when she wanted to feel safe. He had worried that she may never again do that after his physical outburst that horrible night, but any worries he still had over Mabel's forgiveness were now over as she snuggled up against him.

"Goodnight, Mabel," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"Goodnight, Grunkle Stan," she said as she allowed her sore body to relax against her adoptive father.

As Stan drifted off to sleep, he knew that thanks to his adoptive daughter's perseverance, both of them would for sure continue to hear each other's voices saying goodnight to them for many years to come.

But little did either of them know, the biggest fight of all still lay ahead. One that would put their strength as a family to the test once again.