Eons ago it might have been awkward, but by now he had become very good at ignoring his cousin. So he just let Arthur hide behind a newspaper while he... well, he was enjoying a sugary breadstick with some coffee. Arthur's eyes briefly peeked out from above the newspaper for a second there, but a glare and a demanding "What?" had been enough to set things back to equilibrium.
"Hey, Nate!" a young woman with a purple hair had just entered the cafeteria and, after a cursory look, headed straight to their table. She sat down without bothering to ask. "Thought I'd find you here."
The newspaper came down again and the Hunterheart saw himself facing those mismatched eyes again. He swallowed.
"Hey, Liz. I don't think you've met my cousin Arthur?"
"I'm sure I'd remember," she was beaming.
"I'm sure you would. It's a very traumatic experience. I haven't gotten over it yet."
She giggled and leaned towards him, unfazed at Arthur's unhappy expression.
"Your cousin here," she said, "it's a freaking hero. I mean he like, literally saved my life."
The blonde man looked skeptical. Nathan mouthed I found her dog and quickly hid it with a smile and a sip of coffee.
"Unbelievable," was all his cousin said before going back to his newspaper.
"Right? Don't let it go to your head though," she added to Nathan in a playful tone.
Liz was a little closer than he felt comfortable with. Her fingers were brushing his way too leisurely. He would have assumed, for the sake of his sanity, that she was just the very friendly ADHD type. But he could feel his fae senses tingling.
"Actually," he shot up from his seat. "We kind of have somewhere to be. Really nice seeing you, Liz. Uh, take care of Bella. And you. I mean, take care too."
For the first time in forever, he found himself almost dragging a surprised Arthur out of his seat. God, she smells good. He pushed that thought aside and took his backpack from the floor.
"Oh, that's a shame," she sounded disappointed, but not very much. She smiled again. "But hang on a sec," she rummaged through her purse until she found some sort of ticket. "Take this. Please? I'd like to thank you for, you know. Plus you'll see me perform! I promise, it'll be really, really amazing."
It was for some kind of show. A magician's show? The word "amazing" was indeed printed in huge letters right on the forefront. To his credit, it took him almost three whole seconds to accept. Arthur snorted.