A Peaceful Sunday (1)

Jayce's POV

Jayce stared at his pile of clothing, upset that he hadn't packed swimming shorts. At breakfast the trio had planned to spend some time at the forest's lake, deciding to have a picnic there. Artemis had recommended he wear swimming clothes, wanting to swim in the cool lake water.

Jayce liked the idea of seeing Artemis in a bikini but that joy soon died when he realized that he didn't pack a pair of swimming shorts, not thinking about the possibility of going swimming. Despite it being summer.

"Staring at your clothes isn't going to magically create swimming wear." Xander muttered as he walked into the bedroom, having come from the bathroom.

Jayce gave Xander a dirty look, deciding not to rebut at the other male's comment. He turned back to his pile of clothing, wondering which shorts he was going to sacrifice.

"Here." Xander suddenly said, throwing something at Jayce.

Jayce caught the clothing on instinct, looking at it closely to see it was a pink pair of swimming shorts with flowers on them. He turned to look at Xander who was taking something out of his drawer.

"They're the only small pair I have." Xander commented, looking back at Jayce. "See if they fit."

Jayce forced a smile on his face, noticing the backhand comment.

"Thanks asshole." Jayce muttered as he headed to the bathroom to change.

"Welcome brat." Xander called out as Jayce shut the wooden door behind him.

Jayce quickly changed into the swimming shorts, hating that they somehow fitted perfectly. He stood in front of the mirror hating the dorky look the shorts gave off, but he knew it was better than wearing normal shorts.

He sighed, a little annoyed. Grabbing his other clothes, he walked back out the bathroom where Xander was putting on a black t-shirt. The other male was wearing a pair of black shorts, making Jayce irritated further.

Xander, noticing Jayce, smirked as he looked at him. "Looks good on you."

"Haha. Dumbass…" Jayce snarled, picking up a blue, baggy t-shirt to hide the shorts a little.

After throwing the shirt on, he placed his glasses back on and headed out the room, not wanting to spend another second alone with Xander. He walked to the kitchen to find Artemis in a gay, oversized t-shirt packing a few packets of chips into a cooler bag.

Sensing Jayce, Artemis looked up at Jayce and smiled. "You finally ready?"

"Yip." Jayce nodded. "Want some help?"

"Sure. Could you grab the ham in the fridge? I wanna make some sandwiches before we leave." Artemis paused for a second. "Oh…and grab a soda too."

"Okay." Jayce nodded his head.

He walked over to the fridge, opening it and grabbing the items Artemis had requested. He placed the soda on the counter, closing the fridge before he grabbed it again and headed over to Artemis who was standing by the sink.

She was busy slicing some bread, laying the sliced pieces on the clean counter. Jayce put the soda back down and started placing pieces of ham onto the bread, finishing up the sandwiches. The two worked quickly, finishing up within a few minutes, everything packed and ready to go for their picnic.

It was then that Artemis finally noticed Jayce's shorts, her face looking like she was trying to hold back her laugh.

"Where did you find those shorts?" Artemis asked.

"Xander gave them to me." Jayce answered.

Artemis bursted into laughter. "Seriously?! Where the hell did he find those shorts?"

Jayce shrugged. "No idea. Anyway, are you wearing a bikini?"

He knew it was probably a rude question, but he couldn't help asking. The red strings peeking out from under her shirt was making him curious. And a little aroused…

Artemis however didn't see it as rude as smirked at him and winked. "You'll have to see."

"Can't I see now?" Jayce asked, his curiosity intensifying.

"No way mister." Artemis laughed. She then yelled, "Xander, you done putting on your makeup?"

"Hold on Artemis, I forgot to add my lipstick!" Xander yelled back.

"Damn, he takes so long." Artemis muttered as Jayce laughed, the joke obviously a common one between the two.

A few seconds later, Xander appeared with a small bottle of sunscreen in his hand. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Finally!" Artemis cried out happily. "Let's get moving. We're losing daylight."

"It's 11am Artemis. You've got about seven hours of daylight." Xander rolled his eyes.

Artemis glared at him before disappearing to the front door, Jayce and Xander grabbing the food bags.

****

When the trio finally got to the lake, Artemis was giddy, like a little girl at a candy store. Jayce looked around the place soon understanding why his mate liked it.

It was a tranquil place, a small waterfall flowing into clear blue water. Around the lake, long green grass grew everywhere, a few wild flowers here and there. The clearing was surrounded by tall pine trees, the smell of pine filling the air and a few pinecones across the forest floor.

Artemis dashed to the lake, ripping her shirt off, to show she was in fact wearing a red bikini. However, before Jayce could enjoy the sight of her she suddenly jumped into the water, disappearing for a few seconds. She reappeared, a few meters away from where she had jumped, combing her wet hair back with her hand.

Xander shook his head in laughter as he sat down, opening up one of the bags to pull out a blanket, Jayce figuring that the scene before him was a normal one for the two.

Upon realizing that, he decided to join Artemis, pulling his shirt off before dumping it next to Xander. He then walked over to the lake, slowly walking into the water.

He was surprised by the coldness of the water, taking a second to adjust to water before he waded in, heading to where Artemis was.

When he got to her, he asked her, "How did you adjust to the water so quickly?"

"Lots of time in the lake." Artemis laughed at him. "It's amazing on hot days like this one."

"Hmm…"