Epilogue

Many years had passed, and Matt had accepted his Asperger's as a part of him. Although it didn't define his personality as a whole, he now considered his Asperger's as what shaped him to this day. All of his friends, his family, and even his wife, Zoey, cheered him on as he became something despite his condition: a toy inventor in a huge toy company, and also an author of three best-selling books, all of them about Asperger's and what living with it felt like.

Zoey and Matt had been married for five years, and Zoey had treated Matt like an equal despite his Asperger's. Zoey eventually gave birth to an adorable baby girl, which Matt named her Amanda. The little girl inherited her father's love for video games and Nintendo toys, while also inheriting her mother's sweet and kind nature.

There was also one thing that Amanda inherited from Matt: she too had Asperger's.

Matt knew this when he saw how she rocked herself back and forth when sitting still. Not only that, but the video games and toys became an obsession of hers, and she would talk about them nonstop. Even though she was only four years old, his daughter showed obvious signs of her having Asperger's, and she was officially diagnosed by their family therapist, Wayne.

Now, Amanda was helping her father and mother clean out their attic, throwing away things that were deemed unnecessary or garbage, or keeping things that were deemed valuable.

When Amanda looked behind her after she found a doll that Zoey owned as a child, she saw a huge box with a label on top of it: "Matt's Toys".

Curiosity got the best of her, and Amanda ran towards the box and tried to pry it open with her tiny hands. When Matt turned to see where his daughter went, he saw her trying to open the box. With a chuckle, he walked towards the girl and asked, "What did you find, Amanda?"

"I find a boxie!" Amanda replied, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Zoey turned to check what was going on, and she smiled when she saw her daughter trying to get the box to open. "You found a boxie?" Zoey asked, walking towards her husband and child and lowering herself to her child's level.

"Yeah, yeah!" Amanda cried in a loud tone as she bounced up and down, pointing at the box.

Matt looked at the box, and his eyes widened when he read the label. His old toys since childhood were in there, packed away after Matt got a job as the head of the toy company he worked in. To Matt, they were long forgotten until now.

"Should we open the boxie, Daddy?" Zoey asked, smiling sweetly at Matt.

Matt nodded, and with his strength, he pulled out the box from where it was. He grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the tape holding the flaps of the box in place. Opening it, his old toys—his old friends—were inside. However, they didn't move in Matt's mind. They all sat in the box, still as statues.

"Oooooh, Ninny toys!" Amanda cried, although she was unable to pronounce "Nintendo" yet.

"Yes, that's right, Amanda." Matt nodded. When he turned to face his daughter, he saw her staring in awe at all the toys Matt had owned years ago. Although they were dusty, they appeared to be brand new; not a single broken limb or a scratch was on all of them.

He smiled. He looked down at his old "friends", and in his mind, he spoke, Hey guys...long time no see.

The first one that moved was Mario, who looked up at him and smiled. "Hey-a Matt. How are you all these years?"

Been doing great, Matt replied with his mind. I have a kid here. Everyone, meet Amanda, my adorable daughter.

"HI AMANDA!" all the toys cried, waving at the little girl.

Even though Amanda couldn't see or hear them, the little girl smiled brightly. "Daddy?" she asked, looking up at her father. "Can I have them?"

Matt hesitated as he looked towards his child. Of course, his toys had saved his life years before, so he didn't want to give them up. But at the same time, he wanted his little girl—his life—to get the help like he did with his best friends; his toys. He smiled at both the toys and at Amanda.

"Of course, kiddo," Matt said, ruffling Amanda's blonde hair. The little girl chuckled as she smiled up at her father, a twinkle in her blue eyes. "Just let me get something so you won't break a delicate bone carrying that box."

"YAAAAAY!" Amanda squealed in excitement, bouncing up and down like a bunny.

Matt left the attic, and after a few minutes, he returned with a large, old school bag—the school bag from when he was in the hospital. He knelt down to pick up his toys one by one and placing them in his bag. Every one of them said their farewells to Matt as he placed them in his old bag. The last one he placed was Mario, who gave the man a thumbs up. "We'll-a take good care of your kid, Matt. You-a can count on us!"

Matt nodded and smiled. Even though the parting was bittersweet, he knew that his old friends could take care of his little girl. Thank you, Mario and everyone...take care…

He placed Mario in the bag, and he handed the bag full of Matt's toys to Amanda. With a huge smile on her face, Amanda took the bag and looked into it, seeing all the toys inside. Seeing her happy expression warmed both Matt and Zoey's hearts.

"Take good care of them, Amanda," Matt said. "They're old friends of mine, and I'm sure they'll be your friend when you're nice to them."

"Okay, Daddy!" With that, Amanda ran out of the attic, possibly to return to her room to play with her new toys.

Once Amanda was out of view, Zoey turned to her husband, a small smile forming on her face. "Are you sure it's a good idea to give your old toys to Amanda? They are your friends after all, Matt."

"I know," Matt replied. "But I want Amanda to have friends like I do—friends who would always be there for her, and friends who would be with her through thick and thin...like how they did when I was a kid."

Zoey's smile grew wider when Matt said this. Matt had grown up with these toys, and although she could tell that Matt was sad to give his old friends away, he did have a good point: his friends would do what they could to help Amanda in the upcoming future. Who knew what could happen? Zoey hoped it would be a good future for their little girl's sake.

Matt held Zoey close, kissing her on the cheek. To the boy-now-man behind the hands, growing up with Asperger's was a hard road, but it was all worth it in the end, and Matt wouldn't want it any other way.

Life was good, even with Asperger's.

This is the end! To everyone who stuck through this story till the end: THANK YOU! For those who didn't read the author's note at the beginning of this story, I have Asperger's myself. When I grew up knowing that I was "different" compared to the other kids, I knew that I had something...but I didn't know what it was. When I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at age 12, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I finally knew why I was like that, and I embraced it happily. My Asperger's is what shaped me to who I am today. My Asperger's is a blessing to me, since I both live with it myself AND living with someone who has it (my father has it as well). I have to be honest: when I first wrote this and planned it out, I feared that it might have gone flat. But with all the praise and the concrit from you lovely readers, I felt that this fanfic is a success. I even managed to make a few friends from their reviews, telling their stories about their own Asperger's and their struggles. Sometimes, I felt alone with my Asperger's, but I knew I wasn't the only one. So everyone...thank you.

Now, special thanks to ManaketeSmoocher for their help with brainstorming the ending and concrit! Special thanks to ZachaRicO for the amazing concrit and pointing out glaring flaws for this story for me to fix! Special thanks to h34rt1lly for beta reading the first eight chapters! Special thanks to Pikminfan for reviewing! Special thanks to Shana Hager for the encouragement and the wonderful reviews! Special thanks to ProdigyGaming for the amazing reviews! Special thanks to Retronym for the reviews also! Special thanks to Paradigm of Writing for adding this story to his community, The Hidden Gems in the Soil, and giving it the attention I felt it deserves! Special thanks to EACH AND EVERY ONE of my reviewers and readers for giving this fanfic a shot and giving it so much attention! Special thanks to the sources that helped me make the story accurate (can't list them all here, hehe)! Special thanks to my mom and dad for helping me as well despite not having Internet for a while!

But most of all: special thanks to Gnoggin on Youtube for making the Smash is Autistic video that inspired me to write this! Seriously, you guys HAVE to check it out if you hadn't already!

Now...on a final note, like what Gnoggin had said in that video:

"And whether you have Autism or not...don't let people bully you into being someone you aren't. Just stay awesome, and know that there are those who love, and will support you."

Until next story, everyone...see you soon, friends.