The Giant's Choice

The garage smelled like smoke and victory. Colossus kept his arm around me as we walked back toward the main building, his thumb tracing lazy circles on my hip like he couldn’t stop touching me now that he’d started. The club was buzzing — brothers laughing too loud, the kind of relief that comes after surviving another night. But my phone was still in my pocket, heavy with the weight of everything I hadn’t answered. “You were incredible back there,” he said quietly, just for me. His voice had that post-fight rasp, low and warm. “Didn’t flinch. Didn’t run. You stood there like you belonged.” I bumped my shoulder against his side — which was basically like bumping into a brick wall. “I do belong. And you didn’t go full monster. You held back. I’m proud of you, mountain man.” He stopped walking and turned me to face him right there in the middle of the compound. His massive hands framed my face, thumbs brushing my cheekbones. The look in his gray eyes was pure heat and something softer, something that made my throat tight. “You make it easy to remember I’m more than the guy who breaks things,” he said. Then he kissed me — slow, deep, right in front of God and the entire Steel Titans MC. Someone whistled. Rogue yelled, “Get a room!” Colossus didn’t care. Neither did I. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine. “Tonight’s not over. I still want you in my bed. But first… we deal with the mess.” The “mess” was waiting in the main room. Marco sat on a chair in the center like a prisoner on trial, wrists zip-tied, face swollen. Mom stood beside him, looking small and exhausted. Viper, Rogue, and a few others formed a loose circle. The air was thick with cigarette smoke and tension. Viper didn’t waste time. “Lena. Your call. We can dump him outside the gate and let the Reapers have him. Or we keep him. Use him as leverage. Your choice.” All eyes turned to me. Marco lifted his head, one eye nearly swollen shut. “Sis… come on. I messed up. But they’ll kill me. You know they will.” Mom’s voice cracked. “He’s your brother, Lena. We’re family. You can’t just—” I stepped forward, Colossus’s hand still at my back like an anchor. My voice came out steadier than I felt. “Family doesn’t steal from you. Family doesn’t sell you to the highest bidder. Family doesn’t show up with the people who tried to burn down the only place that’s ever felt like home.” I looked straight at Marco. “You made your choice the day you pawned my tools and sent those men after me. I’m done paying for it.” Marco’s face twisted. “You think this freak is gonna protect you forever? He’s gonna snap one day. They all do.” Colossus didn’t move. Didn’t growl. He just looked at Marco with quiet, terrifying calm. “If I was going to snap,” he said, “you’d already be dead. The only reason you’re still breathing is because the woman I’m falling for asked me to hold back. That’s the only power you have left. Don’t waste it.” The room went silent. Viper nodded once. “He stays locked down. We’ll use him if we have to. Lena stays under full protection. Anyone who disagrees can take it up with Colossus.” No one disagreed. Mom started crying again, but this time she didn’t beg. She just looked at me like she was finally seeing the daughter she’d spent years ignoring. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. It was the first time she’d ever said it. I didn’t forgive her. Not yet. But I nodded. Small. Enough. Colossus’s hand found mine and squeezed. Later, back in his room, the door locked and the compound quiet, he pulled me into his arms without a word. We didn’t rush. We just stood there, breathing each other in. His hands — those huge, rough, dangerous hands — moved over my back with heartbreaking gentleness. “You chose yourself tonight,” he said against my hair. “I’m so f*****g proud of you.” I pulled back just enough to look up at him. “And you chose me. Even when it would’ve been easier to crush him.” His smile was small and real. “Easier isn’t always better. Not when it comes to you.” We kissed again — slower this time, the kind of kiss that says I’m here, I’m staying, I’m not afraid anymore. His hands slid under my shirt, calluses dragging over my skin like he was learning me by heart. I arched into him, fingers in his hair, whispering his name like a secret. When we finally broke apart, he rested his forehead against mine, breathing hard. “Stay,” he said. “Not just tonight. Stay with me. In this room. In this life. I’m done pretending I don’t want all of you.” My heart felt too big for my chest. “I’m not going anywhere, Colossus. You’re stuck with the wrench girl.” He laughed — that low, rare sound I was starting to live for — and kissed me again. Outside, the Reapers were still circling. Marco was still locked down. My mom was still a question mark. But inside this room, with this giant of a man holding me like I was the answer to every question he’d ever had, the war felt a little further away. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t running. I was choosing. And I was choosing him.