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The door closed behind him and he was alone again. August looked in the mirror of the aeroplane lavatory and who stared back was not the calico from 30 minutes prior. Under the meagre light above him, the man in the mirror was newest member of the mile high club. As they glared each other, however, the achievement seemed less and less like cause for celebration.

He finished freshening himself up and the made his way back to his seat. It came as a shock that the whole operation had gone smoothly. No sound or movement seemed to have called the staff's attention, or perhaps, they simply didn't care.

Walking through rows of loud snorers, restless children, and snuggling couples, he found his destination. August was an aisle guy, which normally meant he would play doorman to two fellow passengers, but this time he had lucked out. With the middle seat left empty, he and his one other neighbour had the space airline companies wouldn't give them. However, laying eyes on his travelling companion made him question that luck.

Justin Liu, Bengal tiger, 26. He spent the prior week with family and was on his way back to finish his degree. Youthful, smart and sociable, he loved talking about his friends. And August knew all that because he was the other recent inductee into the Mile High Club.

The cat took his seat, which tore Justin's eyes away from the blue sky. The toothy grin reflected the sun outside, making it impossible for August to offer a smile of his own.

“Oh man," said the tiger. “I can't believe we did that!"

“Yeah," the cat replied.

“Ooh, I feel all electrified! No wonder people do this!" He looked around before bringing his muzzle closer to August in a whisper. “Did anyone see you?"

“If they did, they didn't say anything."

“Ah, good good. I didn't check if it was legal or not..." The tiger pulled back, still smiling. “So, did you have fun too?"

“Mhmm. It was... eye-opening."

“Hmm, yeah. Not sure I can get more adventurous than this, though." He grabbed his chest through his black-and-white flannel jacket. “Hah, my heart's still racing."

And then, silence. But, in that quietness, August's thoughts still blared. He also couldn't believe what he had just done. The fur on his limbs stood on their ends with the same electricity. He had fun, and the his heart beat fast, but unlike his neighbor, another emotion underlined all those reactions.

August hadn't been entirely truthful with his partner. A lie by omission, really. In the moments leading to their embrace, he had been sure he didn't have to say anything, but seeing Justin that happy, spoiled his own enjoyment.

And still his mouth didn't move. After all, there really wasn't a need for the tiger to know. To him it could forever remain a fun story to tell his friends, or a something to check off his bucket list.

As for August, he would keep all those terrible feelings to himself. The cat, and him alone, deserved them, after all. What good could there be in imparting such knowledge upon Justin, the only innocent person in this story?

Continuing pleasant conversation with his neighbour would be hard, but that's just the consequence of what he had done.

The tiger caught August's attention with a loud sigh. “That was fun," he said with a smile.

“Yeah," the cat replied, with his best attempt at a grin, “it was."

“I mean, like, not just the danger of it all, though. I enjoyed spending this time with you, August." Justin repositioned himself on his seat, so he turned completely to his neighbour. “I don't… know it's like a normal thing to say, but… dude, you're great at this."

Heat reached the calico's inner ears. “O-oh."

“It was like… like you knew exactly what to do and how to do it. I don't have much experience with… all this, but you? You, had the confidence not just to ask me, but also to make most of the opportunity." He let out another, long sigh. “I'm glad I got to meet you, August."

At the end of Justin's speech the cat looked away. Being the target of this many compliments, it wasn't simply nice, but satisfying. The tiger seemed to know what the cat longed to hear, and that was enough for his regret to subside.

He was glad too. Maybe that was just what they both needed after all.

“Say," Justin said, “Dallas is your final destination too right?"

August's head jerked to find him. “Yeah, why?"

Silence came before an answer, and then, a sigh. “I was thinking… Y'know, you're nice, and confident… and, uhh, attractive too."

That was plenty for the calico to put the pieces together. The tone that just now brought him peace, now led him to a storm. He dreaded and expected the following words as the fortress he had built for himself crumbled under their weight before they even arrived. But in that tempest, August could still make his last stand. He would not lie again.

“So, I was thinking… maybe I we could chat some more, yeah? Maybe grab a bite or drink some–"

“I have a boyfriend."

The tiger bounced in his seat before settling back into his chair. “Oh…" He stopped, clearly in much thought. “But you guys are, like, open, right?"

“No."

Justin sunk deeper, looking at the ceiling with defeat in his eyes. “Poly?"

August shook his head. “Also no, sorry."

A small chuckle fled the big cat's muzzle. “Sorry, he says."

The air between them grew still. After minutes of no reply from the tiger, the cat resigned himself to never hearing from him again. Well, he deserved that. He had made his choice, and these were its consequences.

In that reprieve he tried to look to the future. To when he landed and met with his boyfriend. Standing his ground with this acquaintance was easy, but would he have the same mettle with someone he's known for three years?

“August?" Justin said, eyes still glued to the ceiling.

The sudden sound made him jump. “Y-Yeah?"

“Why?"

That single word bore the burden of an entire sentence. It had been pushed out with pain and flowed discoloured through the air. More than cheating on his boyfriend, what pained August was how deflated he had made Justin. And that's just the problem.

The cat sighed. “We have been… strained for a while now. He's changed, I've changed. We just aren't enough to satisfy each other anymore."

“So you cheat on him!" Justin said with words tinged with red anger.

“I… guess so." He adjusted himself on the chair, recovering from the sudden emotion in the tiger's voice. “The adult thing to do would be talking it out, I guess, but I could never do it. I couldn't let it go."

Justin let out air through his nostrils. “It is a tough thing to deal with…"

“And I wondered all this time, y'know? How being with someone else could be." His heart skipped a beat when his neighbour turned to face him. “I-It's been so long, I forgot how it feels. I needed… I wanted to know."

A staring contest of unsteady eyes took up the space between them until the tiger spoke up. “That doesn't justify any of this."

“Yeah, I know. And I am sorry for bringing you into this."

“I'm sure you are." He groaned, readjusting himself from slumped position to a more neutral stance. “So, what are you gonna do now?"

Air escaped August's nostrils. “Not lie, I guess."

“That's good." Silence returned for a brief while, until Justin clicked his tongue. “Seem now I don't know if I believe you! You could still 'not lie' and never tell him!" He huffed, shaking his head. “Guess I'll never truly know."

August cocked his head. How strange it was that the tiger would care about this at all. As far as he's concerned, what difference does it make if the calico spoke of this or not? And still, he cared; perhaps that was just the kind of man his neighbour was. And the tiger's reaction moved him to get an idea.

“I could tell him right now," August said.

That piqued Justin's interest. “Uh, how? We don't have signal or Wi-Fi here do we?"

“I can buy it."

“Hmm, it's gonna be expensive, though… And, wait, who cares! We're barely acquaintances, if that!"

“Well… you do, I think." He watched the tiger's ears droop with a gulp. “Maybe I can make it up to you this way…"

It took some time before Justin responded, and his first reply came as a long sigh as he once more melted into his chair. “Do whatever you want, man."

With the press of a button, he connected to the plane's limited Wi-Fi, by offering his credit card number and 15 dollars, the world-wide-web was made available to him (for a single hour). Through that process, he caught the tiger just outside his vision feigning disinterest.

“I'm gonna do it," August said, raising his phone to where Justin could see it.

No audible reply came from the tiger, but he clearly put less and less heart into his façade.

August automatically found his way to the instant message app and scrolled to find the name “Douglas" in his recent history. He stopped for a moment, admiring their previous conversations: two wordless columns of stickers. Perhaps it was high time they talked.

>>Hey Doug

Moments passed before that message got a reply.

Oh, hi.<<

You landed already?<<

>>Nah

>>Using plane Wi-Fi

Oh, okay.<<

Any reason for that?<<

August gulped and hesitated a response, but Justin's now steady gaze moved him to proceed.

>>I gotta talk to you got a sec

Ok, sure.<<

Another pause, where the calico took a long breath through his mouth and then released it through his nostrils.

>>I met someone in this flight

>>He's cool and handsome and we

>>we had sex

_Between “Read" ap_peared beside his message, and the upcoming reply lasted an infinity.

Like, on the plane?<<

>>Ye

>>Mile high club y'kno

No reply. August fought his urge to imagine his boyfriend's reaction.

>>Im sorry

Well talk later<<

August sighed out loud.

>>K

With Douglas' status set to “offline," the cat put his phone away. He dared not look directly at the tiger, but from the edge of his vision, all he could was that tell Justin looked at him.

“It's done," the cat said.

“So I see," the neighbour responded. “You didn't have to, y'know? Not for me, some rando."

“I guess. But, if not maybe I wouldn't." He shook his head. “Maybe I would just let it linger, like many other things."

Justin looked to the window. “Maybe."

And they didn't talk the rest of the trip.

---

The vastness of Dallas Fort Worth airport bewildered the cat every time he had landed there. That time however, all that had happened made him focus on his phone instead. No reply from Douglas or messages from their common friends.

As August marched towards the exit with automatic movements, however, a nudge hit him in the left forearm. He couldn't contain the surprise on his face when he turned around to find a tiger standing there.

“Justin?"

For a second, the large cat only stood, uneasy and still. He ruffled his own hair and looked away many times before could formulate a sentence. “Look, this isn't any of my business, I know. And honestly, I should be way more pissed at you right now, but…" Another fleeing gaze followed by a shaking head. “Y-You shouldn't think so little of yourself, man!"

August jumped at the burst of emotion in Justin's last sentence.

“You said you would let it go but I don't think so! We don't know each other very well… but you still sent out that message, risked your relationship because of how upset it made me, right? You had this, I don't know, kindness to someone you met today and may never see again. If only you did something like that for your own sake..."

The calico's face had grown hot and rosey from the tiger's words, but the truth forced his gaze away from Justin. “But… what I did to you, what I did to Douglas…"

A weight landed on his left shoulder, forcing August's eyes back to the feline before him.

“You can change for the better, August. Now, I know for sure."

What beauty he found in the tiger's warm smile as it reflected the sun. Forgiveness, understanding and hope for another, all condensed in that grin. The calico knew what he wanted to do next, but Justin's bright visage came underlined with other sentiments: disappointment and betrayal.

Ah, of course. Even if the tiger believed in what he said, the simple truth was that August had broken his trust, he had done a disservice to the man who had been nothing but pleasant and kind. Justin's forgiveness was clear, but so was his melancholy.

And so, he did not ask for his number or if they could see each other again. He only needed two words.

“Thank you."