#hammerstark

this may be horrible, but either way it’s all your fault

***

“You are absolutely ridiculous,” Tony muttered, raising his menu to cover his face as Justin posed for the many cameras flashing through the window of the restaurant they were at.

“Oh I certainly have no idea what you're talking about, dear,” Justin told him, his smile unchanging as he waved towards the horde of paparazzi. Christ, he was doing a Queen's wave. “All I am doing is enjoying a nice dinner date with my wonderful boyfriend!”

Justin's voice raised on certain words, and Tony rolled his eyes for show. He'd had people date him for his money and his fame (or just for the sex), but at least they usually pretended they weren't doing so. Justin was pretty much milking this as much as he could, and he wasn't even trying to act like he wasn't. Still, Tony hid a fond smile behind his menu and gave the man a bit of credit—coming out for Tony had more or less tanked his company’s stocks, and he hadn't once asked Tony for the money to recover.

Instead, he was doing everything Tony had drunkenly admitted to wanting, only months into the relationship and tucked away together in a little villa somewhere warm on the first official vacation Tony had ever taken. Justin was more than surpassing all the things Tony had silently wished for for so long. He was going public, and he was being shameless, and he was loving Tony openly in front of an entire world that wanted to tear him down for it.

It was something he'd never had before, not this openly. Because it was one thing to date Tony Stark, another thing to sleep with him but to love him? That was new territory that the media was just eating up.

“You are so ridiculous,” Tony said again, but he knew his voice sounded just as fond as his smile ought to be. This wasn't their first time out, but it was one of the most intimate dates the public had witnessed. A nice restaurant Tony rented out, just the two of them tucked away in a corner that just so happened to be right beside a large window. Of course the paps had heard of it, of absolutely no fault of Tony's, and had swarmed the outside of the restaurant to get photos and videos of them together.

And Justin was waving to them as if he was being paid for it, all but shouting at the window and no doubt charming the masses with his rather pretty smile. Tony lowered the menu he had covering his face just to see it, allowing himself a smile that was rather genuine to curve around his lips. If nothing else, Justin was certainly attractive all done up (though privately Tony rather preferred him in the early morning, face flushed with warmth and hair mussed from a night spent in their bed), and while the string of interviews they'd done together hadn't much approved Hammer Industries stocks, it had certainly kept his name from any bad press.

“You love it, don't even try to deny it,” Justin told him with a laugh. His foot landed against Tony's, a comfortable weight that reminded him he was there with him above all else, and Tony finally put down the menu with a huff. Good God, but he was getting sentimental with age. I love you, Tony thought, but he held his tongue still. Nearly a year together and out to the entire world, and still the words felt too big to say. Justin turned to him, and his smile shrunk in width but brightened in sincerity, and Tony thought Justin rather knew how he felt.

“I do,” Tony allowed, as close to an admittance as he would give himself for now, and Justin took his hand to press a kiss to his knuckles.

Lord, they were both saps.

***

It’s easy to hate Justin Hammer when one doesn’t have a lot going on. But then Iron Man enters the scene and an ever-expanding list of heroes and villains, and Hammer’s name doesn’t cross Tony’s mind for a while. When the name pops up in the news here and there, it’s not relevant.

It only becomes relevant when Hammer sidles up next to him at a gala. “Anthony!”

“Didn’t you go to prison?”

“That’s funny. Billionaires don’t go to prison. You of all people should know that.”

Tony would skedaddle, but then Hammer’s presenting him with his favorite drink like a dog that’s done a trick, and so Tony throws him a bone. “Where have you been, then?”

“I’ve re-invented myself. I’m a wellness influencer these days. Our hit of the season is a greens powder that replaces your multivitamin, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, with one proprietary blend. We’re the biggest competitor of Athletic Greens! All you have to do is open TikTok and you’ll see our ads. What do you think?”

“I don’t take any of those.”

“Anthony! Don’t tell me that Iron Man himself isn’t taking his health seriously?”

And fuck it if it’s not funny, if Tony isn’t half a breath away from laughing. It helps that he can tell Hammer himself doesn’t believe it. That he’s selling his lunacy without a care in the world because he knows Tony isn’t going to buy it. The superfood buzzwords wash over him as Hammer talks. It’s nostalgic. Once upon a time, they were two weapons manufacturers, and Hammer would have been prattling on about guns, and now it’s something about digestive enzymes.

Just as Hammer hadn’t had a degree in engineering, he doesn’t have one in biology, but he’s enthusiastic about it. As far as Tony can tell, his products just don’t work, rather than actually do any harm.

When a reporter drops by, Tony introduces Hammer as, “My least favorite person on Earth,” for old time’s sake.

“What a world we live in,” Hammer says with a grin as her back turns. “Good thing it’s a forgiving one. I wouldn’t have done well in prison.”

“Doubtless.” Tony downs the rest of his drink. “Are we doing this?”

“Of course.”

And Tony has to laugh because despite Hammer’s agreement, it sounds like he has no idea what he’s agreeing to. He’s always been like that, head first into stupid plans, that same nonsense reflected in Tony. But a wellness influencer has more room to breathe than a weapons manufacturer, so when Tony pulls Hammer in by his tie, there’s not an iota of resistance.

Later, when this thing between them keeps on not ending, another reporter manages to get past Tony’s security. Among the many questions asked is, “Does this mean you are endorsing Hammer Greens?”