AN: So this is my first attempt at fan fiction. I wasn't going to post it yet, but my enabler/beta AllyGator1990 talked me into it. So here it is.

Also, I'm not profiting from this story or Leverage in any way other than the stories in my head.

He's being followed. Hunted. It takes effort for him keep his shoulders from tensing up and his stride even. After a while of trying to ditch his follower, he finally catches a glimpse of his pursuer. He has to fight the urge to grin. He knows his pursuer. He resists the need to glance over his shoulder. He knows what he'll see if he does. Nothing. The Hunter is one of the best for a reason.

He continues on as if nothing is amiss. He goes to the farmer's market to pick up a few things. While there, he stops to chat with the vendors. He's almost convinced he has lost the interest of The Hunter. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he catches a reflection of The Hunter. Looks like he won't be heading home any time soon. He will have to lose The Hunter first. The Hunter has been trying to follow him home every day for the past two weeks. He doesn't know why The Hunter has been tailing him. He decides the best way to end this is to turn the tables on The Hunter.

He melts into the swell of people on the sidewalk. For once, his stature is an advantage instead of a hindrance. When it becomes obvious The Hunter is still keeping up with him, he sets his plan into motion. He steps into an alleyway and into the shadows. In doing so, he has changed the game. The Hunter is now the hunted.

Before long, The Hunter treads carefully into the alley, wary of the danger that could await in the shadows. The Hunter pauses, sensing a trap, but it is too late. Seizing this opportunity, the man strikes out with his hand and grabs The Hunter.

"Dammit, Eliot, How did you even know I was there? I was doing better this time!" the Hunter whines.

The man chuckles and releases The Hunter, "You weren't tryin' hard enough, Parker. You've gotta learn to blend into your surroundings better when you're tryin' to follow someone as paranoid as me. I spotted you about three blocks from Nate's apartment."

"No you didn't." She pouts and crosses her arms over her chest. "There's no way."

"Yeah, I did. You were sittin' on the bench by the park wearin' a hoodie that was way too big for you."

"But you didn't even act like you saw me! You never turned around, you never looked over your shoulder, and you never even slowed down or sped up. "

"I could feel you watchin' me. I didn't try to look for you 'cause that would've given you a clue that I knew you were there." He grins at her and reaches out to tug on the end of her ponytail. "It's that hair of yours. It stands out in a crowd. I saw it in a reflection of a store window."

She twisted her face into something of a cross between confusion and disgust. He was never really sure when it came to Parker. "So I need to cut my hair off?"

"NO, Parker. That's not what I meant." He shakes his head in disbelief.

"But you just said that's what gave me away." She picks up the end of her ponytail to glare at it as if it got her caught on purpose.

"If you were followin' anyone else your hair wouldn't of mattered, but I know you. So I recognized it."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense." She turns to leave the alley.

Eliot grabs her wrist and pulls her back into the shadows. "Wait. I want to know why you've been followin' me every night."

"Um..." She stalls, kicking at a rock lying in the alley with her toe.

He lets out a low growl to show his impatience. "Parker. Answer me."

"I don't want to sound stupid," she mumbles while still staring at the ground.

This takes Eliot by surprise. He figured Parker wouldn't even think about things like how other people will react to her. He reaches out with his hand and slowly tips her chin up so he can look her in the eye. "You won't sound stupid. Crazy maybe, but not stupid." He grins trying to get the sad look off her face.

Apparently this was the wrong tactic to use. "See! That's what I mean. No one ever takes me seriously. They just assume I don't know what's going on or I won't understand." She jerks away from him and before he can recover and try to talk her down she's gone.

Eliot blinks a few times trying to think through what just happened. Not seeing a good ending to this situation in the near future, he heads home. On his way home he tries to come up with a way to make this up to Parker.

Once he gets to his house, he tries to cook to calm himself down. He grabs a knife, a cutting board, and a handful of vegetables and gets to chopping. He gets so caught up in his thoughts that while he is fixing his dinner, he cuts himself. Getting upset, he throws all of the food away and decides to go for a run to work off his frustrations. He makes his way into his bedroom and changes into some sweats, a hoodie, and running shoes before he heads out.

He runs for about two miles before his thoughts overtake his calm. His mind is running around in circles. He knows how sensitive Parker can be. Why did he try to make a joke out of the situation when it was glaringly obvious how nervous she was? Why was she nervous anyway? She wasn't nervous because he dragged her into an alley. Now that he thought about it, she seemed more embarrassed than nervous. But that just didn't make sense. She didn't have anything to be embarrassed about, did she? He was obviously missing a big piece of the picture. He would have to figure out what she was so worried about saying in the alley earlier before he could figure this out. He would just have to talk to her tomorrow at Nate's. Yeah, that's what he'd do. He'd apologize about giving her a hard time and ask her what was going on. Then he could figure out why she's been following him around. Having finally worked through the situation, he turned around and headed back to his house.