Bert had been out of the hospital for about a week when Brian showed up at Jeph's house to check on him. Bert's throat surgery had been a success, and he'd be well in plenty of time to tour, but Jeph still insisted Bert stay with him while he recovered. Bert wasn't supposed to smoke during his recovery, and everyone was certain that a bored Bert with no cigarettes or alcohol would likely murder his girlfriend, the neighbors, and his dog. In his hospital bed, Bert had borrowed the doctor's pen, scribbled something, and then held up a scrap of paper that read, "not the dog".

Brian walked into the living room, dropped his duffel bag on the floor, and said, "Is it true?"

Jeph nodded. "He won't be able to speak for at least another day."

Brian took a square of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. "I've been waiting so long for something like this."

Jeph led the way to the guest bedroom, where he sat on top of the large wooden dresser. Bert was in bed, reading a book and drinking a bottle of water. When he saw Brian he dropped his book and extended his arms for a hug.

Brian hugged him and then sat down on a chair beside the bed. Bert noticed the paper and frowned.

"Now that you can't talk, I have a list of topics to cover," Brian said. "It includes 'I love you like a brother and that's why I'm concerned about your health', 'It is not cool to try to hook up with my girlfriend', 'What the hell were you doing with Gerard', and 'You can still be punk rock and wax your eyebrows.'"

Bert batted at the piece of paper, but Brian pulled it out of his reach.

"Let's start with number 1A." Brian said, "'Going to the dentist'."

Bert ducked his head down, looked up with big hopeful eyes, fluttered his eyelashes, and pursed his lips.

"You can't distract me with kisses," Brian told him.

Bert nodded, as if to insist that he could distract Brian with kisses.

Brian put his list down on the nightstand. "One kiss, and then we talk about eyebrows."

Bert surged forward, and Bran had to catch him to keep him from falling off the bed. Brian had forgotten how good Bert was at this, how he would start with silly pecks at someone's lips and, just moments later, be shoving his tongue in their mouths and making them grab at his shoulders and beg for more. As Bert's hand snaked between his legs and Brian crawled onto the bed, he tried to tell himself that this all counted as one kiss, since it was nearly continuous, and any minute he would stop and lecture Bert on the importance of doing laundry.

Instead, Brian gestured at Jeph to join them.

When Bert saw Jeph approaching he broke the kiss and flapped his hands excitedly. He went through a series of bizarre hand gestures that included putting half his hand in his mouth and grabbing his crotch. Brian pulled Bert back, bringing their mouths together, desperate to keep tasting him. He feltJeph's hands on his hips, reached back, and pulled him closer.

The next morning Brian woke up naked in the guest bed, sandwiched between two men. Jeph was snoring softly, but Bert was wide awake and staring at him, his clear blue eyes shining.

Bert cleared his throat, then spoke in a rough whisper. "I'll floss today."

Brian kissed him.