This is such a skillfully tied up ending, I really love how you have pulled the emphasis on the brownies like this, using it the build into the character. Instead of answer the question of why he was so taken with the brownies by them just being good brownies, you use it as a corner stone, allowing you to develop Matt into a really complete character.

I actually really like that she doesn't show up at all in this one, and the way you have gone with it, that she had played him, and stood him up, you give it a feeling of normalcy, like it isn't that uncommon for Matt to fall hard for a girl, and land flat on his face. I had hoped for some time travel elements here, and the idea of him coming back to challenge himself. Extra time travel points for the old man vanishing once he'd changed the time line.

You do a really impressive job of mirroring the grammer and sentence structure from the first half, maintaining the slight sense of detachment as opposed to full third person immersion that allows for more of a narrator tone. The impact of the words the old man chooses, and how hard those phrases hit, i wonder at the life that version of Matt had led, the future that he averted,. The use of 'pathetic' and 'fat' feel like faimiliar nails, the words that hautned him the most, but they aren't being used to drive home the usual message of not good enough they would have.

to hide the hatred, disappointment, and frustration of being who you are

you bring this into a story of self acceptance, of matt being okay with who he is and therefore able to stand on his secure base and hold hands with a future partner, instead of flinging himself at her and clinging on.

A very thought provoking story, you do such a beautiful job of not slipping into the romance, and instead leave me wondering, if i could go back, what advice would i give myself? what words would get through to me?