-----------------I---------------
The first time Piper felt that he had royally fucked up was when Roman had come home and walked in on his and Jace's coupling. He was the older one in the relationship, and he should have known better than take such a risk with his young lover, the boy had been too innocent to realize exactly what the consequences may be if they were caught. But Jace had been so gorgeous that night, and he'd been dreaming of touching the boy ever since laying eyes on him. That was no excuse though, he should have taken Jace back home to his place, at least then the boy would never have had to fight with his father.
Piper will never forget how his heart broke when his tiny mate had jumped onto Roman's back in an attempt to defend him. And then when the man had thrown the boy off in his rage...
Piper still felt sick when he remembered the crack of Jace's sweet and delicate body hitting the wall. It was all because he had been irresponsible. And even after the fight, Roman was still harsh with the boy for what felt like months afterwards. The man had sulked. Jace had sulked. Neither of them had been willing to cave and his little mate was the one who had suffered over it, all because Piper hadn't thought through the consequences of their making love in Jace's family's home.
He knew better.
But Jace forgave him anyways.
-----------------II---------------------
The second time was when Jace had come home to him after secretly visiting Law over at Jesse's house. Piper had greeted him with endless adoration and loving kisses to his neck, but he took them away when Jace admitted that he was pregnant. He had forgotten to take the pill and now he was pregnant.
Piper should have been more supportive. But instead his first words had been questions of abandonment. He had wanted the pregnancy terminated, refused to budge even as Jace's eyes filled with tears, his bottom lip quivering with emotion. He had known it was wrong but he had insisted upon it anyways for his own selfish reasons. Piper hadn't stopped to consider his lover.
And that had devastated the boy.
Things had only worsened from there. Jace had decided he couldn't kill his baby, wouldn't be able to live if he did such a thing. He wanted to be a mother. He wanted family.
Piper didn't.
And the man had made sure Jace knew as much before asking him to leave.
Piper had wanted him out.
That alone should have been enough to keep Jace from coming back to him. What kind of man throws their pregnant mate out of a shared home? Jace had been a kid himself at the time, terrified and all alone because Piper didn't have the balls to care for his family.
For an entire week, the man had left Jace to handle their growing child, not even returning the boys phone calls.
He was too chicken shit to listen to the messages that were left. Piper had let the boy cry and suffer all by himself.
Unforgivable.
At least for most people. But Jace loved Piper so much that he had taken the man back immediately. He had never second guessed it.
---------------------III--------------------------
On the third occasion that Piper realized he'd ruined things, was after spending an entire day watching as Rigby Rollerson acted as a father to Rocinante while Jace sat at his side, giggling. They looked like the perfect little family.
And it tore Piper apart inside.
But it was his own damn fault, no matter how it pained him. If he himself had stepped up to do those things with Rocinante then Jace would have no reason to be gifting Rigby with his sweet smiles.
He hadn't thought about that at the time though. Instead he had picked a fight with his lover after their get together was finished. He'd argued that it was wrong for Jace to be giving Rigby his time, and scowled when the boy tried to defend himself.
But Jace had forgiven him. The man didnt deserve it but Jace had refused to simply let him go. The boy had thought it was alright, a small blemish in their world of happiness. He had waited until Piper realized he was wrong, and they had made up. The boy could have left him then and Piper wouldn't blame him. But Jace didn't. He stayed and they worked through it as they always did.
-------------------IV-------------------------
At one of these get togethers, Jace noticed a very gorgeous redheaded boy who seemingly couldn't keep his eyes off of Piper. To begin with the young werewolf had passed it off as some new comer with a crush, so he had simply made it apparent that Piper was taken by sitting in the mans lap and kissing down his neck.
But the redhead continued to catch Piper's gaze, and sometimes the boy would even smile or wink.
It had made Jace furious.
Eventually he had confronted Piper about it, knew the man would understand what he was talking about because his lover had been keeping the strangers gaze.
Turns out that Britt had been one of Piper's very first loves. And the man had never thought to tell Jace about him sooner.
He probably wouldn't have even said anything if Jace hadn't caught them staring. But the boy forgiven him still, confident that it didn't matter if they had been in love before. Piper was his now and his alone. They had a child together. There was nothing Britt could do that would come between them, Piper had sworn to him.
This was the fourth time that Piper remembered the grace of his mates forgiveness.
-----------------------V---------------------------
The last time that Jace forgave Piper was over the dinner that he had spent nearly three days preparing only to have the man ruin it with his explosion of jealousy. It had been the first time that Breccan would be coming over to have dinner with them as Rocinante official boyfriend and he had wanted it to be perfect for his baby boy.
Of course Rigby had been invited too.
He had known from the start that it would be difficult for his lover to behave. The man had always openly disliked Rigby, and he'd often grouched about the southerner's crush on Jace. But still, none of that had ever readied him for the way his lover had struck out.
And then he'd had the audacity to actually be angry at Jace over it.
But the boy had forgiven him once everything had cooled down and Piper finally realized he was wrong. Jace could never stay mad at at the man, no matter how much he sometimes deserved it. Jace simply loved him to fiercely to waste his time being angry.
So he forgave Piper, bared his teeth and cleaned the mess that had been made. He allowed the man to kiss his stress away.
----------------------***--------------------------
And then the day finally came, when Piper pushed him so hard he broke.
Jace had gone on a short vacation with their children while Piper stayed behind to work. He'd just dropped his two boys off at his parents house to visit before heading home in the hopes of spending some alone time with his lover before their kids were back.
But when he opened his front door, he nearly collapsed at the sight that met him. It was like bloody car crash he couldn't look away from. There was beer and whisky bottles littered about, and a line of what looked suspiciously like cocaine laying across the coffee table.
The most out rage and heart breaking of it all though was the two bodies still intertwined on the couch. His lover was completely nude, his strong arms curled tightly around a lithe and pale waist.
The person laying just as bare atop his chest adored soft red hair.
Britt.
The young werewolf stumbled backwards, panic rushing up to lodge into his throat.
No.
Oh, no. no. no.
Piper had cheated on him. The man had stayed behind from a family vacation to get fucked up and cheat on him.
Before Jace even realized what was happening, he had marched his way into the home, past where Britt and Piper slept and into the kitchen where he retrieved a large bowl of water. From there he came back to the living room, his hands trembling as he stood behind the couch and doused the cold liquid over the still entangled couple.
Piper was immediately cursing in his confusion, but he quieted as he realized what was happening. He was curled around Britt...
And Jace was trembling as he stood over them.
"O-Oh fuck..."
"Oh fuck is right, Piper! What is wrong with you! H-How could you do this to me? And our kids-!" Jace cut himself off, fingers flying up to entangle and tug at his curls as the desperation threatened to tear him apart inside. They were supposed to have the perfect family, and up until now they had.
But it was ruined. Slipping through his fingers and simply burning up before his very eyes, even as he watched his mate scrambled to untangle himself from Britt's still dazed hold.
Piper was reaching out to touch him then, maybe even hold him judging by the way the man had opened his arms up. Jace was having none of it though. His lover was tainted and dirty now. He'd been fucking Britt, cuddling the bastard on his couch just as he swore he'd never do.
Jace felt as though he were going to be sick, and still, the werewolf sharply swatted Piper's hands away from him. "You don't fucking touch me, Piper! You don't get to fucking touch me anymore! O-Oh my god! You swore and you promised and you reassured me until I actually started believing you! And then you go and fucking do this! D-Did you think about me even once? Or was his ass so much of a turn on for you that you completely forgot about your family?"
Piper was still moving toward him though, hand outstretched as though to wipe tears away from his face.
Jace hadn't even realized he was crying, too consumed with keeping out of Piper's reach to notice the true extent of his pain. No matter how badly his heart ached or how his stomach twisted, there could be nothing worse than having Piper touch him after laying with Britt in such a way.
He deserved better.
So much better.
"Jace Daniel, please just wait! I uh...Fuck I can't explain. I want to talk to you though, can we pleas-" Piper was cut off as Jace threw one of the couch pillow at his chest. Britt was completely silent and sitting on the floor at Piper's feet, merely watching the couple and what could very possibly be the end of their marriage.
"You don't call me that anymore! Im not your Jace Daniel! I don't want to be your anything anymore! I loved you! Oh god, I love you Piper! And this is what you do to me? H-How could you do this after feeding me all that bullshit about how I was enough for you? I want to hate you so bad! And im pissed that I cant hate you! In fact, all I want is you! But no! Fuck you! I am Jace Daniel Trever Roden and I am damn royalty. My father taught me so and I-I know so. You can't do this to me. I love you and you took advantage and this time I wont forgive you! I might not be able to stop loving you but dammit, i don't ever have to forgive you for this!" The small werewolf nearly fell as he edged backwards towards the door, his entire face pink with emotion.
"I want my daddy. Im going to see my daddy! So don't you dare come after me! I-I wont be responsible for what he does to you right now!"
Jace couldn't bare to look at them any longer. Piper was standing bare and still somehow reaching out to him while Britt was simply trying to cover himself with the couch pillow.
It made Jace so sick he couldn't see straight. The young werewolf was stumbling over himself in his frantic dash from the home.
He needed his daddy.
If he didn't find his daddy soon, he was certain that he'd collapse of a massive stroke or maybe even a heart attack. He wasn't built to handle such pain. Piper was his rock.
And now everything was crumbling.
-----------------------------Home-----------------------------------
Roman knew something was wrong the moment Jace walked into his home to find Piper and Britt together. The impact was powerful enough to have even Roman clutching at his heart. The large werewolf was connected to his pup in ways he hadntt thought possible. With Jace hurting, it was like someone was taking a charred fire poker to his chest. He took off from his home the second he felt his stomach lurching, and sure enough he met Jace on his way, as though the boy had been headed home with the intent to find him.
The sight of the boy would haunt Roman forever. Every time he closes he eyes or sees Piper, it will be all he can think. His baby was tripping over himself, entire face tinted red and blotched with tears. It took all the restraint Roman possessed not to track Piper down then and there.
"What has he done to you? What is it? Are you hurt?" He knew it had to be something to do with Piper. The kids were still at home with Zach and Stein. His son had gone to see his mate for some alone time.
And the man had hurt him somehow.
"Jace, if he hit you..." The man trailed off as he began checking his son over, hands feather light and painstakingly careful as he searched the boy's trembling body for any visible injuries. There was nothing though, except for a few scratches at Jace's knees that seemed to be the result of a fall.
He had been in such a hurry to get away.
And even now, the boy was still in such a frantic and panicked state that he couldn't stop crying long enough to breath or answer any of Romans questions. The large werewolf had to take the boy into his arms and force a hand against Jace's chest, guiding the boy into taking deep and calming breaths. He couldn't stand seeing his pup like this. His entire face was heated and wet with tears, and his body, so tiny and over worked was shuddering under the weight of his pain.
Roman swore then and there that Piper would pay, for whatever he'd done. This was unforgivable. He'd never seen his baby in such a state, not even when that bastard had wanted to abort Rocinante.
The large werewolf felt he may explode if he didn't get answers soon.
"D-Daddy! I just need you to hold me right now." Jace gave a tiny and hitching hiccup, vision so blurred by tears that he could only make out the lines of his fathers face, nothing more. But it was better than closing his eyes. All he saw then was that striking image of Britt tangled against his mate.
It caused his stomach to give a painful lurch.
"I can't talk about it, Just take me home. Please just take me home." Jace whimpered pitifully, even as his father wrapped him in the leather jacket he so often wore. Roman had stopped questioning him for the moment being, and instead the burly werewolf had busied himself with wiping away tears and cooing soft words of comfort, every one he knew of in the hopes of that it would soothing his pup on their trip back home.
Despite what he had said back at the home, Jace felt an overwhelming sadness as he realized Piper really wasn't coming after him this time. At this point he shouldn't even want him to. He'd forgiven his mate for many things throughout their time together but this, this was unforgivable.
Jace could only hope Piper realized that. The man deserved to know of the damage he had caused. His tiny lover had spent so many years loving and caring for their family. Jace had thought he was done being that self conscious and love drunk teenager he'd once been, but with this act of betrayal Piper had completely stolen all of that away from him. Now the young werewolf was left all alone and unsure of himself. He couldn't understand how he wasn't enough for his mate. He cooked every night and no matter how stressful his day may have been he never missed his yoga sessions. The house was always in pristine condition and their children completely cared for. What more could Piper want from him? What did Britt bring to the table that was so worth throwing their family away over?
It was so devastating that Jace could do nothing more than press his face into the crook of his fathers neck and scream, until his throat was raw and his voice a ghost of itself. Roman's shoulder did little to muffle the sound but Jace couldn't stop himself. It was as though his body was trying to reject his heart. The young werewolf nearly felt the need to reach into his chest with elegant fingers, the same he'd used to touch Piper with, and pull the offensively aching organ out. Anything to soothe this pain.
Piper had broken him.
"Momma J? Momma whats the matter?" Rocinante had been waiting for them on the porch, his amber eyes wide and frantic as he took in his mothers shattered sounds. The young werewolf reached them instantly, his actions mirroring what Roman's had been as he moved around his mother to check for injuries.
"Just stop it! I just want you guys to hold me, please? Just hold me and don't let go." Jace gave a shuddering whisper, still clinging to his father but now making room for Rocinante. He was determined that he would not be forgiving Piper this time, he couldnt. And they would all have time to be angry later. But for now, Jace needed someone to hold him and stroke his hair in Piper's place. He needed to know that things were going to be okay because at the moment, it felt as though his entire world was crumbing down around him.
And Piper wasn't there.
Because he was with Britt.
Unforgivable.
