Tony was used to getting all sorts of gifts for Valentine's Day. Money, Cologne, jewelry(I.e. A gold watch from Pepper), the occasional blow job.....you name it, he's gotten it. He figured there was no present that could surprise him.
Then Loki happened.
The God of Mischief re-entered Tony's life immediately after Steve had broken his physical(and metaphorical) heart in Siberia. If it hadn't been for him, the inventor might have died a cold,lonely death in that Hydra plant.
After rescuing him and healing his injuries, Loki explained about the oncoming threat and who was really responsible for New York. Together they, along with Thor, Bruce, and a band of goofballs known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, defeated the evil space grape and his cronies. The victory was made even sweeter when Loki, to whom Tony had been growing close to during that time, grabbed him and slammed their mouths together in what he considered the hottest kiss of his life.
With the threat gone and a hot new Viking God boyfriend, Tony felt like life was slowly returning to normal.
Of course, that's just when it decided to get extra weird.
****************
It was two weeks before Valentine's Day, when Tony recieved an urgent phone call from Princess Shuri in Wakanda. It seemed that all of the Rogues had dissapeared without a trace, even Barnes, who had been frozen in cryo. He knew there was no love lost between him and his former teammates, and he worried about what his super solider ex and company would do if they caught him unawares.
Loki, however, didn't seem unnerved in the slightest.
"Everything will be fine, Anthony," he whispered as he held the inventor close, "those people cannot harm you ever again. Now, let's go to bed where I can offer you a suitable distraction."
As the mage walked towards their bedroom, clothes dissapearing along the way, Tony found himself quite distracted for the rest of the evening.
*****************
The next morning, Tony found himself alone as Loki had had to teleport to New Ásgarð to help Thor. As he walked into the kitchen for some coffee,he noticed a shiny gift box sitting on the counter. The fact that it appeared out of nowhere made the genius a tad wary, but since it wasn't ticking or anything he felt it was safe enough to open.
The contents made him seriously reconsider the safe part.
Inside the box was a familiar set of Widow's bites sitting next to the charred remnants of a human heart. A blood splattered paper was pinned underneath, and Tony lifted it out to read the note that was written on it.
"Roses are red
Jötunn are blue
Please accept this blackened heart
As my first courtship gift to you"
"Uhm, Friday, did you happen to see who dropped this gift off?"
"No Boss, can't say that I did."
Well if he hadn't suspected who'd sent the package before, now he definitely knew who it was. There was only one person that Friday tended to lie for.
Loki.
Tony didn't know what triggered his boyfriend's latest trip to stabby town, but oddly enough he wasn't too disturbed by it. He threw the organ and box into the fireplace and took the note and weapon down to the lab to stick in a safe.
"I wonder what the next gift is going to be."
*************
He didn't have to wonder for long.
Over the next several days, similar presents kept showing up, each containing the same thing : a note, a charred heart, and a weapon belonging to one of the former avengers.
Loki, for his part, never said a word about any of it. Anytime a new gift showed up he'd just smile, wink, and walk away.
To anyone else it would have been disturbing, but all Tony felt was....relief. Each death seemed to unwind an invisible rope that the genius had been choking on for the last two years.
The day he got a box containing Barnes metal arm, Tony laughed, gaining a vicious satisfaction at watching the remnants of his mother's killer burn up in the fireplace.
****************
On the date of the actual holiday, Loki approached him with an air of caution.
"Have you been enjoying my gifts Anthony?"
"They've been...intriguing to say the least. I gotta admit, Bambi, I did not expect you to take that whole 'bathe in the blood of my enemies' thing quite so literal."
"There was a reason it had to be done that way," he said before kissing Tony gently," The final piece is in your lab, if you care to see it."
At the inventor's nod, Loki grabbed his hand and led him to the elevator. On the way down, Tony couldn’t help but ask,"Where have you been keeping them all this time?"
"In New Ásgarð of course."
"Thor allowed that?"
Loki flashed him a devious grin.
"Who do you think helped me fry the hearts?"
"Damn, remind me not to piss you and Thunder Thighs off at the same time."
Before the mage could reply, the doors opened, and Tony stepped out to see the most macabre set up he'd ever witnessed.
There was a circular pattern drawn on the floor, filled with intricate runes. On the edges of the circle were the heads of six rogue avengers. At the center of it all was Steve, still alive and bound by Loki's magic.
"Ok Lolo, you're gonna have to explain the new age artwork you've got going on here."
"It's quite simple,really," Loki drawled as he walked around the gruesome setup, "There's an ancient blood ritual that, when performed, can make the user immortal. I've taken care of the first six sacrifices, but the final kill has to be done by you."
"So what you're saying is, if I kill Steve, I get to live forever?"
"Yes."
"And that's something you want?"
Loki gave him a soft smile before taking him into his arms.
"I would love nothing more than to spend eternity by your side elskan mín."
Tony was quiet for several minutes as he leaned against his lover's chest. Finally, he looked up at the mage with a strange glint in his eye.
"Does it matter how I kill him?"
"Not really."
Tony nodded before pulling away and going over to one of his wall safes. He pulled something out and walked back over, noticing how Steve's eyes widened at the sight of the familar red,white,and blue shield.
He barely gave a thought before throwing the weapon and slicing Steve's head clean off his shoulders. Loki released the bindings, and the minute the body hit the floor the runes began to glow and the remaining severed heads burst into flame. A bright flash of light engulfed the workshop before everything plunged into darkness.
****************
When Tony came to, he was lying in bed with Loki combing fingers through his hair.
"Did it work?"
"It did."
"That's good, but maybe next Valentine's Day you can just get me a card?"
They burst into laughter at the thought before quieting down and snuggling close together.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
It might have been the weirdest(and goriest) valentine he'd ever gotten, but Tony wasn't going to complain.
After all, noone else had offered him forever.