Heero informed me early the next morning that slaves were usually partially or completely drugged for any kind of traveling. I had pelted him with questions for most of the morning and growled with frustration when he told me this. I regretted it when Heero flinched and dropped his eyes to the floor. I was annoyed, but not angry, so I rapped my knuckles against his head in punishment and stormed to the phone to call Sally.
As it turned out, Sally had been expecting something like this. I suppose it would be natural for men who routinely beat and demean their slaves to expect them to try to flea, but I had no fears whatsoever that Heero would try to run away. Honestly, I wasn't sure he'd want to let go of my hand while we boarded the plane. Something told me that, as skittish as he had been when I brought him home, he probably wouldn't do so well around large crowds.
Sally already had the pills set aside for just such an occasion, and was able to send them over quickly when I called her. I had taken a few courses in medicine and field aide in the past, and Une had asked a few of her agents in the crime labs to give me a lesson in narcotics, along with several briefings from Sally. All in all, I was able to tell the type, effects, potency, and dosage required of almost any drug, legal or not. I knew the drug Sally had prescribed for Heero was pretty mild. I probably could have gotten the same effect by giving him a triple dose of Niquil. He would be sleepy, disoriented, and pain free for the duration of the ride, but he would probably be back to normal by the next morning, if not sooner.
Heero actually seemed relieved that he was to be drugged for the plane ride when I informed him later that night. I wondered why.
"I... do not do well around large groups of people. I cannot tell where an attack my come from, and I attempt to find cover."
"The drugs make it better?" I asked while I packed the few things I would take out of this house for the trip. I had grown accustomed to the relaxed, civilian clothing I had been wearing, but I knew that I would have to be in something more fancy for the party. I had asked that my suits be sent ahead, so that they would be there when I arrived. I was pretty much taking my toothbrush, hairbrush, and underwear from the house.
"Not really," he replied, "but there is less I can do about it. I'm still afraid, but I'm too confused to be aware of what I'm afraid of. There are so many faces, but I can't seem to connect them to bodies, and I know the threat is in the body, not the face. I was usually too weak to run or make much noise, and I was always too afraid of my master to say anything. Punishment is much worse when I am drugged, because there is nothing I can do to limit the damage done to my body. When I am drugged, I cannot even turn away from the pain..."
I paused in my packing and went to Heero, whose eyes had gone haunted and far away. Gently I cupped his face, bringing him back to me.
"I won't allow you to be hurt while we're on this flight. I will protect you, so you don't need to be afraid. You will be tired and disoriented, but you will not be so confused that you don't know what's going on. If you need anything, I'll be right with you the whole time, alright?" I asked, knowing he would nod despite the fact that it was most certainly not alright. I knew that Heero was frightened, but I could only try to lessen his fright, I could not spare him from it.
"I trust you, master," he told me.
"I know you do. I won't let you down," I told him, then straightened up. If we didn't get ready soon, we'd miss our flight. "I've had clothes made for you so that you can walk through the terminal. They're on the kitchen counter, run and put them on while I finish up here."
Heero obeyed me immediately and I took the time while he was gone to pack the other collars and ready myself for this expedition. I would have to be calm and strong for Heero to come through this unscathed. Heero needed support, and I intended to give it to him.
We left the house at about two that evening. Our flight was scheduled to leave at four, but I wanted to have plenty of time to board the shuttle and get Heero situated. Heero had pretty much told me he had something of a phobia of crowds, along with his unusual behavior with Sally, I wanted to have a lot of spare time just in case something should go wrong. If Heero did panic, I might need half an hour or more to talk him down.
Before we left the house, I made sure to put Heero's prescription in my pocket in case he needed another dose while we were in the flight, then handed him two of the small white capsules. Heero stared at them warily.
"They're just to relax your nerves, angel," I soothed. He shot me a questioning look, but nodded.
"I'd rather be drugged than panic in public. It would be very bad," he said, then swallowed the pills dry.
"Is there anything else that would make you more comfortable?" I asked, but he shook his head.
"As long as you're with me, I should be alright. And..." he trailed off.
"And what?" I asked. Heero blushed and shook his head.
"It's nothing."
"Enough now," I told him, getting mildly impatient, "What were you going to say?"
"It's just," Heero said, looking nervous, "drugs always make me... cold."
"Ah," I replied, looking over his faded blue jeans and long sleeved green top. Not the colors I would have chosen for him, but the did manage to hide his beauty and made him seem almost normal. "It's too warm for a sweater, but I'm sure we can find a blanket on the shuttle. I'll even order you some tea when we get there, as long as you behave."
Heero smiled and nodded, looking somewhat less frightened than he had been before. In a moment, I led him out the door and into the awaiting car.
I was unsurprised to see Heero fall asleep not long after we entered the car. This time, unlike the last time, Heero had no qualms about sitting on the seat with me, and when he fell into my lap when he finally submitted to the slumber the pills were dragging him toward. I smiled tenderly as he began to snore softly. Such a sweetheart.
I woke Heero as we were entering the parking lot, which gave him plenty of time to wake up, as we had to drive around for several minutes to find the right entrance. Heero was groggy, but his anxiousness was almost completely gone.
"Are you feeling alright?" I asked, "No nausea?" I questioned. I had been sure to give Heero breakfast not long before he took the pills, but I couldn't guarantee that the ride wouldn't upset his stomach.
Heero merely shook his head. "No, mas-..." he stopped himself, looking suddenly awake and afraid at his almost slip. "I'm sorry!" he gasped. I shushed him.
"It's not you're fault, it's the pills. I should have known. Do you think, instead of calling me master, you could call me mister? It's a little strange, but certainly not as bad as master. What do you think?"
"Mister," Heero tired, frowning as he concentrated. "Mister. This is my mister. I have to pee, mister," he said, still frowning in concentration. I laughed, but stopped when I saw Heero's serious and somewhat hurt glare.
"Oh," I said as I suddenly stopped laughing. "You're serious." Heero glared harder and nodded. "Alright, then, let's go find a restroom."
We made an expedient journey from the car to the airport terminal, where I waited outside as Heero hurried to use the facilities. Heero came out a short time later looking shaken and immediately came to my side.
"Is something wrong?" I questioned.
"No," he replied, shaking his head, "I just don't want to be alone."
Though he had been far from along, I understood his meaning, and made a note to be careful not to leave him while he was drugged. We carried only three light bags with us as I had, as I mentioned, sent most of our things ahead the day before. Two of the bags I checked and the third would stay with me on the flight, as it contained my important paperwork, like Heero's papers our passports, and my admittance to Collar. It also contained some of my credit cards and spare cash, but when one is a prince those item are slightly more expendable. Still, I kept a close eye on the bag.
I kept a closer eye on Heero. Once we were away from the bathroom, Heero calmed somewhat, but would still show flashes of fear when some unsuspecting bystander strayed too close. I kept him near me and soothed him quietly whenever he seemed too edgy, but all in all the medicine kept him very calm, if somewhat sleepy.
With everything going so well, I decided to reward Heero by taking him to a small pastry shop we had passed when entering. The inside of the shop was filled with hundreds of gooey, sticky sweets and smelled of doughnuts and coffee.
"Ma-ister?" Heero said, stumbling with the word. I chuckled.
"Yes, Heero?"
"Wha-... What are we doing here?" he questioned.
"I thought you might like snack and to sit down for a while. Does that sound good?"
Heero had to contemplate it more than usual, but eventually nodded. I laughed again at his serious consideration of so simple a question.
"What would you like then?" I asked as we moved forward. Heero considered the glass case in front of him as we waited in line, allowing his eyes to glance over all the sugar-loaded confections.
"What about that?" he asked, pointing to a tray of bagels.
"A bagel? You can have anything you want, you know. Are you certain you don't want something sweeter?"
"No," Heero said, shaking his head, "It all looks so syrupy and messy. I think..." he trailed, frowning as he tried to concentrate, "I think it might do something bad to my stomach. Like, when we fly. Can't I please have one of those?" he asked again, looking at me pleadingly.
"Of course. What kind would you like, strawberry, blueberry, cinnamon, or plain?"
"Mm..." he hesitated, deciding, "I like blueberries..."
"Then blueberry it is," I told him, and stepped forward to make my purchases. I ended up getting a bear claw, which I had been yearning for all morning, and a coffee while I ordered Heero his blueberry bagel and a green tea, remembering his comment about getting cold.
We sat down at a small table toward the back to enjoy our snack. Alone with the bagel, I had also gotten Heero some cream cheese in both plain and blueberry and some blueberry jam, as I didn't know what he liked on his bagels. Heero experimented with the different toppings while I nibbled at my treat and sipped my coffee. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the pastry and I was content to watch him eat even after I had finished my own.
By the time we left the cafe we were able to board our flight and headed to our terminal. Heero seemed even less anxious than before, contented with his full belly. Heero became nervous again as we passed through security and had to separate from me at the metal detector. He got through without any problems, but gave several fearful looks at the large guard standing near him on the other side. The guard noticed and looked suspiciously at Heero, which didn't help matters. I hurried through the checkpoint and took Heero by the arm.
"It's my cousin's first flight," I told the guard, lying easily. "He's a little nervous, as you can see," I told him. The guard smiled at us and nodded. Heero, for his part, nearly hid behind me, glueing himself to my side.
I collected my bag and pulled Heero along as he trailed me, his nervousness quickly fading again. I wondered how bad this would have been without the drugs, if he was so jumpy with them.
We handed out tickets to an attendant who quickly stamped them, handed them back, and wished us a good flight. I smiled at her and waved goodbye, but was in too much of a hurry to get Heero settled to wait for anything else.
I was glad that I had gotten us on a first-class shuttle, because I knew Heero would be uncomfortable with someone sitting next to him. I guided Heero to slip into the row first so that he would be trapped between me and the window. Hopefully it would keep him from being too aware of the other passengers.
There were two seats in every row, giving Heero and I the slight feeling of privacy. The seats were large, soft, and could recline almost the whole way back without invading another person's space. I was fairly certain that Heero would fall asleep within an hour of takeoff, and I would bet on less. I noticed two pairs of headphones attached to the wall and noted that they might be useful later, to keep Heero occupied were he to wake up.
Of course, I knew that Heero wouldn't sleep for the whole flight, as it would last almost a full twenty-four hours. I hoped, however, that he would sleep for a good part of takeoff. Once in space, we could move around the ship, and had a sort of cabin that we could use. It would be private, away from the rest of the passengers and crew. I knew that was most important to Heero.
An announcement came over the speakers telling us to fasten our seatbelts and that the flight would be taking off in a few minutes. I fastened my own seatbelt and, seeing Heero struggling with his, leaned over and fastened the other seatbelt. A stewardess came around to make sure everyone was fastened in, but I barely noticed her as I watched Heero for signs of nervousness. He seemed to be floating at the moment, his blank expression telling me than he wasn't aware of what was happening.
That all changed when the flight began to move and prepared to launch. Heero gasped and looked at me with frightened eyes.
"We're taking off?" he asked me timidly.
"Not yet, but soon," I told him. He sniffled and leaned on me, burying his face in my shoulder.
"I don' wanna," he protested pleadingly, "I'm scared."
"It's alright," I soothed, "I'll be right here the whole time." Heero shook his head, though more in protest than that he didn't believe me, and fisted my shirt in his hands. He was starting to shake so, as the stewardess came around one last time I asked for the blanket I had promised Heero. It was a heavy wool blanket and Heero hid himself inside it, both for warmth and protection.
The engines started then and there was no time for anything else. Heero gave a whimper of fright and gripped me more tightly, but seemed more fearful than panicky. I soothed him with quiet words as the flight began to move and finally launched.
The launch went more quickly than I had expected and we were soon out of the atmosphere, but it would be another hour before it was deemed safe enough for us to go to our cabins. Heero stayed plastered to my side the whole time and soon fell into a drugged sleep. I was glad to feel his body go limp, sparing him from any more fear. I sighed to myself and rubbed his back. Collar was looking more and more unappealing.