Chapter Text
In his defense, Stiles did figure out he was experiencing a time loop on day 2. Being a sci-fi geek did, sometimes, have its perks.
But, because he was just Stiles… He was on day 56 and he didn’t figure out how to get out of the time loop.
To say he was desperate was an understatement.
🕧
Stiles blinked and found himself sitting across from Derek in their favorite coffee shop. It was weird, because he specifically remembered going to sleep in his bed at home.
What Derek was saying was even weirder.
‘It’s sad, Stiles, not having any plans for Christmas Eve. Even your dad has plans tomorrow!’
His indignation outweighed the weirdness.
‘Yeah, he has a date with Mrs. McCall, I’m not gonna ruin it for him. And you know that the rest of the pack are spending Christmas with their families.’
‘Not an excuse.’
Stiles huffed, his annoyance growing. ‘And what plans do you have, huh?’
‘Oh, I have plans, yeah.’, Derek grinned evilly. ‘They’re wonderful -’
‘Whoa, big words.’
‘- and lovely and -’
‘Lovely?’
‘- and do you wanna join me?’
Stiles blinked, surprised. ‘If you tell me what the plans are, maybe.’
Derek shook his head, smiling. ‘I don’t want to tell you.’
‘Why?’, his suspicions started growing.
‘Just cause. Let’s say it’s a surprise.’
Stiles huffed. ‘I don’t do well with surprises, Derek! You know that. I’m way too anxious and paranoid to-’
‘One night, Stiles. One evening. Just one evening, one Christmas Eve, when you tone down your usual… paranoia. That’s all I’m asking.’
He said it very gently. Derek wasn’t a gentle person, not usually, with a few exceptions that usually involved memories of his family, spending time with Cora, or kids. He wasn’t gentle with Stiles. Not… usually.
‘This is weird.’, he finally said.
Derek masked it quickly, but Stiles still saw the flash of disappointment in his eyes.
‘I don’t remember getting here.’, he told Derek. ‘I remember going to sleep last night, and I blinked awake here.’
The wolf frowned. ‘A simple no would have sufficed.’
‘I’m not saying no.’, Stiles shook his head. ‘Of course I’m saying yes, I always say yes when you want to hang out. I’m just saying… I might be hallucinating.’
‘Did you sleep last night?’
‘I don’t remember.’, Stiles shook his head.
Derek kept frowning, looking at Stiles’ chest, listening to his heart. Then he put two fingers over Stiles’ wrist, either checking his pulse or taking his temperature.
‘Maybe you slept poorly.’, he finally said.
It was fair, that happened from time to time, because of all the trauma Stiles had gone through in the past years. But the black outs hadn’t happened since the Nogitsune.
‘I don’t smell like fox?’
‘No.’, Derek smiled reassuringly. ‘You smell completely normal.’
Stiles dropped it. He shook himself out of the funk and spent the next couple of hours trying to convince Derek to tell him what plans they had for tomorrow.
He was utterly unsuccessful, and Derek was enjoying himself, smirking smugly.
After he went home, Stiles cooked lunch, drove to the Police station and ate with his dad. Then he went grocery shopping, which took a lot more time than it was supposed to because everyone and their mothers were out doing last minute Christmas shopping. After putting the groceries away, he took a long shower and went to sleep, trying his hardest not to be paranoid about the plans he had with Derek tomorrow, and trying even harder to keep all the love he had for the wolf from spilling out.
🕧
‘It’s sad, Stiles, not having any plans for Christmas Eve. Even your dad has plans tomorrow!’
‘Time loop.’, Stiles said after a moment. Yeah, he figured it out instantly.
‘What?’, Derek frowned.
‘Sorry, dude, I gotta go.’
He gave no further explanations as he ran out of the coffee shop.
On that day, he went to Deaton, asking for help. He didn’t get any, because Deaton wasn’t believing him. So… maybe it wasn’t magic.
🕧
On day 3, Stiles raided Derek’s secret stash of old books. He didn’t find anything.
On day 4, he drove to San Francisco, to the only magic shop in a 100 mile radius that was actually magic. The witches laughed at him, saying time loops were possible only in movies.
On day 5, he spent the entire 10 hours of the loop on google. He found nothing.
On day 6, he spent the entire 10 hours of the loop on the dark web. He found nothing.
🕧
On day 7, he spent the day with Derek.
‘It’s sad, Stiles, not having any plans for Christmas Eve. Even your dad has plans tomorrow!’
‘Do you have any plans?’
‘Yes, and I wanted to ask if -’
‘Sure’, Stiles grinned. ‘I’ll spend Christmas Eve with you. But you have to spend today with me.’
Derek was surprised, but he covered it quickly. ‘Sure, what do you want to do?’
Stiles panicked, but only for a moment.
It was very cold outside, so they went to the mall. Derek wasn’t too pleased by that, but Stiles got them tickets to see three different movies, back to back. A horror, a comedy, and a Christmas romance.
It was, actually, an amazing day. At the end of it, Stiles was painfully aware of how in love he was with Derek and he felt like crying because he knew the day they had wasn’t real, and it will reset in the morning.
🕧
On day 10, Stiles managed to get a video call with a very large coven from London. They also told him that time loops were not possible, not even with magic, dark magic, or any artifacts they knew of.
🕧
On day 17, he took Derek on a hike through the preserve. They had a snow fight in a clearing, Derek shifted into a full wolf at one point, Stiles was running a fever by the time they made it back to the car, and he was happy and devastated at the same time.
🕧
On day 25, he took Derek and they spent the day in the Police station, cleaning up the Sheriff’s office, while he was in it.
It was a great day, and Stiles cried himself to sleep that night, knowing it wasn't real.
🕧
On day 30, he was angry that he fell in love with Derek, fell in love with someone that would never look at him the same way. So he installed a dating app and drove himself to the edge of town, spending the day in some random guy’s bed, forgetting about everything else.
🕧
On days 40 through 46, he had several calls each day, with various packs and covens and any and all supernatural beings he managed to reach. He found nothing.
🕧
He spent day 50 alone at home, crying in a corner of his room. Stiles was exhausted, mentally drained and he just wanted the world to go back to normal.
🕧
On day 51, Stiles tried several magic rituals that were supposed to do just that, make things go back to how they were. It didn’t work.
🕧
On day 52, Stiles tried to travel back in time with the help of some really dark magic. It didn’t work.
🕧
On day 53, he got himself into a car crash. It didn’t work.
🕧
On day 54, he swallowed a whole bunch of pills. It didn’t work.
🕧
On day 55, he tried telling Derek again. Of course, the wolf didn’t believe him.
🕧
On day 56, Stiles broke down.
🕧
‘It’s sad, Stiles, not having any plans for Christmas Eve. Even your dad has plans tomorrow!’
‘You know what else is sad?’, his tone was harsh. ‘Sitting here, day after day after day in front of you, pretending like everything is normal and fine, like I’m not stupidly in love with you!’
His voice went up at the end there, making everyone in the cafe stare at him.
Derek stared, too. With wide eyes and his jaw slack.
Stiles started crying, and he ran out of there. Derek followed, of course he did, catching up with him just as Stiles got to the jeep.
Derek grabbed his arm, somewhat gently, stopping him from getting into the car.
‘Stiles-’
‘No, look, it doesn’t matter, okay? I’m sorry, but it doesn’t matter.’
‘You’re crying.’, Derek said softly.
‘It doesn’t matter, because in the morning, the day will-’
‘Of course it matters’, Derek cut him off with a bit more strength. ‘You matter.’
That shut Stiles off for a moment, but he didn’t manage to stop crying.
‘I’ve had some really shitty days.’, he breathed out. ‘Some really really, really fucking shitty days, and I had nobody to talk to, but you. And every day we come to the coffee shop-’
‘We haven’t been here in awhile.’, Derek frowned.
‘- and every day we go through the same conversation, same thing, how it’s so sad to not have plans for Christmas Eve, and you pity me -’
‘I don’t pity you.’
‘- and you offer to hang out -’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Because I’ve been here before!’, Stiles all but yelled. ‘And you don’t understand, I know, but it doesn’t matter!’
Derek was quick, he moved his hand, grabbing Stiles’ fingers tightly.
‘Of course it matters. You matter to me. Everything about you matters.’
Stiles cried harder at that, all the frustration and desperation of the past 56 days catching up with him. Derek was quick to hug him and it felt lovely, it felt wonderful, and for a moment there, Stiles forgot that it wasn’t real, that in the morning the day would reset.
‘Talk to me, please.’, Derek whispered. ‘Talk to me about your shitty days, and what brought this on.’
‘You won’t believe me.’
‘Tell me anyway.’
Stiles pushed him away, and wiped his face, managing to calm down. Derek drove the jeep to his apartment, where he put Stiles on the couch, wrapped up in a fluffy blanket, and made him another coffee.
Derek listened to him patiently, and Stiles told him everything, from day 1 to day 56. He started off unbelieving, but as it got worse and worse, it was clear that the wolf believed him.
At the end of it, Stiles felt like he wanted to die.
‘So you said you loved me because of desperation.’
Stiles chuckled weakly. ‘Doesn’t make it any less true.’
‘And it doesn’t matter, because you’ll fall asleep and the day will reset itself. And we go back to square one, to the coffee shop.’
Stiles nodded.
‘Well, in that case…’
Derek moved down the couch, until he was sitting beside Stiles. He smirked, a little, as Stiles frowned at him.
‘In that case’, Stiles tried, ‘are you gonna tell me what plans you have for Christmas Eve? With me?’
‘Bake cookies, watch some Christmas movies, drink some wine.’
‘That sounds… nice.’, Stiles smiled.
‘Maybe kiss you goodnight.’
Stiles’ jaw dropped and his shocked expression must have been pretty funny, because Derek chuckled. Then he grabbed Stiles’ cheeks and kissed him, slow and steady, nice and sweet. For a moment, Stiles forgot that it wasn’t real, he forgot that it didn’t matter because the day was going to reset itself.
Derek was still kissing him, holding him gently and… Stiles forced himself to forget. For the rest of the day, he forced himself to forget, as he made himself comfortable in Derek’s arms and kissed him back with all the pent up desperation of the past days, weeks, years.
🕧
Stiles did not wake up in the coffee shop, with Derek grilling him about his inexistent plans for Christmas. Instead, Stiles woke up in Derek’s bed, in Derek’s arms, with the wolf kissing him playfully.
‘I’m still not sure I believe you about the time loop, but I am glad you had a meltdown and told me you loved me.’
Stiles glared at him. ‘Derek, it’s Christmas. Don’t be a grinch.’
His laugh was absolutely evil, but Stiles now had a pretty effective way of shutting him up.