Title: The Wrong Crowd
Author: homesweethomicide13
Rating: T
Pairing: BardaGlock, Jarda, DoomGlock, implied DoomBardaGlock.
Warning: Slash
Disclaimer: It's been long established that I don't own these boys. I just play with them now and then.
Summary: Barda hated that Glock chose to hang with the wrong crowd, and so, with a little help from Doom, he decides to show the Jalis a better crowd.

The Wrong Crowd

If there was one person Barda couldn't hate more, it was Jinks. People often thought his hatred for the unusual man was unjust, but Barda had his reasons. For one, Jinks was the nastiest piece of work to ever live – he was a liar, a cheater, a troublemaker and a general menace. He was crude and spiteful, and cared nothing for anyone but himself and his own needs. He was quick to stir up chaos, and let others fight it out for him. He was all mouth, and that annoyed Barda.

Then, of course, there was the history between them. Ever since Barda was a young guard he'd had to deal with the constant nagging irritation that Jinks had turned out to be. When they'd first met in the palace tavern, Barda had ignored the warnings of his older friends, choosing instead to give Jinks the benefit of the doubt. He really wished he'd listened to them after only a few minutes in the other man's company. From that moment on, Jinks was a constant attachment, almost unavoidable and most certainly impossible to scare off. Barda had had to fight off the urge to snap his neck on more than one occasion.

Another reason for his loathing was Jinks' cowardice, and the cheek he had to mock others for faults which he himself possessed. The moment things became too dangerous, Jinks would bail out the second he could – but if anyone else were to do the same, he would make a point of it by drawing unnecessary attention to it in a public situation.

To top it all off, Jinks had somehow managed to ensnare one of the people Barda held close to him. Friends were all he had left these days, and he liked to keep a firm hold of them – which of course meant keeping Jinks far, far away from them. He was comforted by the knowledge that Lief and Jasmine disliked Jinks almost as much as he did, and Sharn – though she would never speak a bad word against him – was not particularly fond of him. He held no fear of losing Doom – who had become somewhat of a very close friend over the last year – because, quite frankly, Doom could not stand him either. No, they were all safe. But of course, Jinks had a way of hitting where it hurt, and had managed to reel in the one person Barda cared for most.

Glock.

He hovered in the doorway to the dining hall, lurking in the shadows, watching as Jinks threw back a mug of ale with a laugh, beady eyes locked onto the man sat opposite him. Barda felt the burning embers of rage stirring as Glock smirked a little and raised his own mug of ale. He'd come here in search of the Jalis, and the moment he'd recognised that sly little man with him, he'd stopped and retreated to the shadows instantly. He knew if he'd continued on into the room, he would have immediately marched up to Jinks and put the little bastard on his ass. He'd then have to explain to Glock exactly why he'd done so, and that was just asking for trouble.

It seemed as though they were simply conversing, but Barda knew the two men often participated in Fighting Spider battles – both of them were known to own one, after all. Still, there was no sign of either spider anywhere on the table – and this angered Barda further. With no other motive for being there, it was possible that the two men really were just having a conversation over a mug of ale. What they could be possibly talking about, he wasn't sure, since all of his conversations with Jinks over the years had consisted of mocking, teasing, and acrobatics (which he couldn't have cared less about).

He couldn't quite hear their words, and so he stepped completely back into the hallway behind him, and hurried around to the other side of the dining hall to the door closer to the two men. If he was careful, he could stick to the shadows, and listen in on their conversation. Using the skills he'd learnt as a boy – successfully sneaking around the palace at night had been the quickest way to earn respect among the other children – he crept into the room, and crouched down just beyond the door, grateful that the dining hall was kept dim when not in use. Now he could hear them clearly.

"It must be very difficult for you, Glock." Jinks was murmuring, his face neutral – but there was a glint in his eye that Barda recognised. "The last of your tribe."

"I am not the last." Glock shrugged, draining his mug before slamming it noisily on the tabletop. "I am quite sure there are members of my tribe still alive, somewhere. They may even be trapped in the Shadowlands. The Jalis do not die so easily."

"Even so, to be the last free Jalis… it must be hard to cope with the knowledge that you were able to escape and your tribesmen were left to die or become enslaved." Barda felt his rage flare up again. He willed Glock not to fall for his tricks – after all, hadn't the little shit pulled the same thing on him, back at the Resistance stronghold? He would imply that Glock was a coward, and Glock was expected to react in a violent manner – and Barda knew he would.

"I am going to give you some very good advice, Jinks." Glock murmured, voice oddly calm. He leant over the table, eyes locked with Jinks'. "If you ever mention my tribe to me again, I shall show you the true Jalis strength. If you dare to suggest that I was disloyal, or that I abandoned them, I will turn you inside out and make a rug out of you." It took all of Barda's self-restraint not to start laughing at the look on Jinks' face. Glock sat back in his chair and refilled his mug as though he hadn't just threatened Jinks. There was a heavy silence for a few long moments, and then Jinks spoke up again.

"So, you are becoming close with the heroes." He waved a hand in a casual gesture as he spoke. "Barda in particular." Barda was instantly alert. If Jinks had noticed – who else had?

"Perhaps I am." Glock shrugged. "I did help them to save Deltora, remember? I may not have done much in the end, but we all did our part. It is only right that we would remain civil, at least." He drank some ale, and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. "As for Barda, he is a fellow warrior, if from a vastly different background. I am merely interested in how the palace guards were trained."

"The palace guards are nothing but thugs." Jinks scoffed. "Always have been, and now that they are under Barda's rule, things will only get worse."

"Barda is a good leader for them." Glock growled. "You should not talk of things you know nothing about, Jinks. It makes you seem even more stupid."

"You speak very highly of that man." Jinks sneered. "I do not see why. He is nothing but a foolish coward." Both Barda and Jinks were startled when Glock suddenly leapt to his feet, knocking over his chair. The Jalis fisted a hand in Jinks' shirt and lifted him out of his seat, snarling at him.

"I think you greatly underestimate him. From what I can tell, he wants nothing more than to toss you into the Maze of the Beast, or perhaps feed you to some hungry Granous. And yet – he does not, for he is a better man than that, and does not stoop to the level of snivelling cowards like yourself." Glock shoved Jinks back down into his chair, which nearly overbalanced at the sudden impact. "Barda may be above such violence, but I am not. Talk with such disrespect again, and you will understand why I was called a savage at the Rithmere Games. If you think palace guards are thugs, you clearly have not seen how brutal a Jalis man can get." Glock drained his mug again, sliding it down the table once it was empty, and turned from Jinks, intending to leave. He hesitated and turned back to glare at him. "You are pathetic."

Barda took the brief hesitation as a chance to leave the room unseen, hurrying down the corridor before Glock could reach the doors. He would be lying if he said he felt no happiness at Glock's immediate defensive reaction to Jinks' words. He wasn't exactly sure when he'd turned into the equivalent of a lovesick teenager, or why the centre of his affection was apparently Glock, but he knew that it was returned at least a little. If only Glock didn't insist on socialising with that menace! There was no possible way he could take this… affection… any further if Glock continued to associate with Jinks.

As he strode down the corridor, lost in his thoughts, he realised he'd have to somehow permanently separate the two men. But how? He knew from experience that Jinks was a very difficult man to shake off once he'd reeled someone in. He would have to somehow convince Glock to scare him off.

"It is surely impossible." He growled to himself.

"I will possibly regret asking, but what is surely impossible?" Barda yelped a little in surprise and whirled around, coming face to face with a familiar scarred man. Doom raised his eyebrows and smirked in amusement. "Oh, did I startle you?"

"It is rude to sneak up on someone, I will have you know!" Barda scowled. "Must you creep around, even now?"

"Force of habit, my apologies." Doom murmured, though he did not seem very apologetic. Still, Barda had already forgiven him. That was another problem of his – as well as Glock receiving his affection, Barda also had a strong fondness for the Resistance leader.

There was a slight variation between the two, however. Whilst his fondness for Glock was simple, honest affection, his fondness for Doom went further, and more intimate. Having been up close and personal with the other man several times – mostly during the heated arguments they seemed to have rather often – he knew that Doom also felt the tension between them. It had gotten to the point where those heated arguments were their little way of… flirting, really.

"So, what exactly is impossible?" Doom's voice brought Barda out of his thoughts, and he realised he hadn't provided Doom with an answer to his initial question.

"Oh." Barda paused. Should he lie? Or just not tell the whole truth? "I was just pondering on how it is near impossible to be rid of Jinks." The sudden grimace of disgust that crossed Doom's face shouldn't have amused Barda, but it did.

"One can only hope that he will dispose of himself eventually." Doom sighed, running a hand through his tangled hair, scowling a little. "Though I must say I would rather it happen sooner rather than later. I do not appreciate his decision to loiter around Glock. That man is trouble enough in his own right. He does not need Jinks' influence on top of that." Unbeknownst to Doom, he'd just given Barda an excellent idea.

"Well, I was actually trying to devise a plan to separate them. Having known Jinks a long time – unfortunate for me, I know – I know that nothing good can come of them hanging around together." Barda smiled a little. "Perhaps we should step in." Doom inclined his head and observed Barda for a moment.

"It seems you and I share a similar fondness for the Jalis." He murmured after a moment. "Just for a moment I saw a very familiar flash of jealousy in those eyes of yours." Barda chose to say nothing, but the slight quirk of his lips confirmed Doom's theory. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Oh… I think I have a pretty good plan."

-x-

Glock strode through the corridor of the palace, fists clenched at his sides. He'd wanted to beat Jinks into a bloody mess, but knew he'd be in serious trouble with Doom and Barda if he did – even if they'd be rather grateful at the same time. He wished he hadn't jumped so quickly to Barda's defence, but it was automatic these days. He was just glad that Jinks was too caught up in his own world to wonder why a Jalis solider with an unpredictable temper would get so worked up over some light mocking of the palace guard chief.

What Jinks had said was true – he was closer to Barda than the others. Their odd friendship had started when Glock had been strolling through the palace gardens and ended up walking in on Barda attempting to release some anger by practicing archery. Whilst he wasn't particularly good at it, Glock had offered to practice with him, and they'd talked quite casually throughout – and despite their vastly different backgrounds, they realised they had a few things in common, including a love of good, strong whiskey.

It hadn't taken long for their friendship to develop, and now Glock was finding him drawn to the man in a more affectionate way. He wasn't surprised by these new feelings – attraction to the same sex wasn't something he had a problem with. Jalis were strangely open-minded for a race of warriors, and he'd felt similar feelings towards other men before. He just wasn't sure how to go about it when it came to Barda. The man wasn't a Jalis. He was a man of Del – a tribe the Jalis had fought against for many long years – and a palace boy. Surely there was no possible way he would understand or accept these feelings?

His thoughts were only feeding his anger, and so he pushed them to the back of his mind and turned the corner – only to feel his anger swell up an impossible amount, and threaten to burst out. Pinning Barda – his Barda – to the wall, lips joined and hands roaming, was Doom. The very same Doom that he'd spent a good few months lusting after in the Resistance Stronghold.

At first it appeared that Doom was forcing Barda into that position, forcing him to kiss him – but once he looked closer, Glock realised that Barda was kissing back and pulling Doom closer. Well, one good thing had come from this. It was obvious that Barda did not mind attraction between two men, after all. Knowing that he would struggle to keep his anger in check, Glock cleared his throat loudly.

Guiltily, Barda and Doom sprung apart and turned in his direction.

"Ah… G-Glock…" Barda muttered, doing his best to look surprised. "Oh. Uh… if I told you that it is not what it looks like, would you believe it?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" He tried to keep the bitterness from his voice, but knew he'd failed when Barda averted his eyes. "I shall leave you to it. Sorry for interrupting." He made to stride past them, but Doom caught his arm.

"Or…" He murmured, gently easing Glock towards him. "You could stay."

"And watch you two-,"

"That is not what we are suggesting you do, Glock." Barda smiled, hooking an arm around Doom's waist, his free hand reaching out and fisting in the front of Glock's shirt. "See, you have been hanging around with the wrong crowd. Such behaviour will not be permitted."

"What are you talking about?" Glock frowned in confusion, though he couldn't deny that the idea of joining these two men for whatever intimacy they had planned was very, very appealing.

"Tch, Jinks is such a bad influence. I think his stupidity is rubbing off on you." Doom muttered, leaning into Barda and giving him an affectionate nuzzle before biting gently on the curve of his jaw. Barda growled a little, digging his nails into Doom's hip, and then smirked at Glock.

"Play nice, Doom." He murmured, keeping his eyes fixed on Glock. "He probably does not know of better company. Perhaps we should show him what he is missing out on?"

"Now that is a wonderful idea." Doom lifted his head, brought their lips together in a brief kiss. "What do you say, Glock? Ditch the menace and play with some real men instead?" Glock glanced down at the hand Doom extended out to him, and then at Barda's hand still fisted in his shirt. Then he lifted his gaze and looked at each of them in turn – and saw the affection behind the lustful leers. With a slight smile, he took Doom's hand.

"Only if we play by my rules." He smirked. "I get to have Barda first." Doom laughed a little. He glanced at Barda, who raised an eyebrow suggestively and grinned. With a grin of his own, Doom shrugged.

"Deal."

Author's Note: So, again, I was going through my old unpublished DQ stories, and I came across this. It was unfinished (and slightly different) - but imagine my surprise when I discovered that the pairing I'd listed was "BardaGlock". And there was me thinking I hadn't written a BardaGlock story before "Unexplainable"... XD I re-wrote the original and added Doom into the mix (because I said I'd write a DoomBardaGlock one day), and here we go~

Enjoy? XD