"...and then I'm all 'Hey, I'm committed to this relationship,' and she comes back with 'yeah, well, you're not really _really_ gay,' and..." Willow trailed off and sipped miserably at her coffee. She was seated at a coffee shop table opposite Xander, about five minutes away from the construction site he was working on.

"Uh huh," Xander said. It was all he could think of to say.

"And, and then she tries to get me to go the fair with her!" Willow continued. "Like, 'okay, someday you're gonna ditch me for a guy. Let's go watch the clog dancing!'"

"Uh huh."

"I don't even remember how the stupid fight got started."

"She said something about her mom dying and you reacted to that."

She gave him a little glare.

"Hey, you _asked_."

"I know, I know..." She sighed. "I mean, doesn't she trust me?"

"Aw, sure she does...look, every relationship has doubts, right? Don't you worry that she might find another woman someday?" Xander took a bite from his donut. "I mean, I worry about Anya every once in a while..."

"Yes, but your girlfriend's a demon from hell."

"Retired."

"I understand what you're saying. But...y'know, I've tried everything I can to show her...I mean, I'm committed to her. I'm out of the closet, totally. I'm--"

Xander rolled his eyes. Willow looked at him, puzzled.

"What? What was that?"

"Nothing."

"You rolled your eyes!"

"I did? Uh..." Xander looked away, uncomfortable. "I must have had something in them."

"Xander, what?"

Xander sighed. "Okay. Lemme preface this by saying that nobody has any doubts about your commitment to Tara."

Willow nodded.

"But...did you ever think you're trying too hard to convince yourself?"

Blink blink.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just--"

"Look, I am in a sexual relationship with a woman. That's pretty much the textbook definition of a lesbian right there."

"What I'm saying is..." He took the time to phrase it carefully. "You talk about being gay a lot."

"Oh, does that _bother_ you now?"

"Willya let me finish? I mean, you say 'I'm a lesbian' like, every hour on the hour."

"That's because I'm proud of--"

"'Boy, I sure am gay!' 'I am so totally lesbian today!'"

"Xander--"

"'Sure would like to be having sex with a woman right now!'"

"Xander."

"'I come runnin' for the rich taste of clitoris!'"

"All right, all right!" Willow finished her coffee irritably. "What's your point?"

"My point is, it's like, methinks the Willow doth protest too much. Look, before you met Tara, your heterosexuality was pretty well established."

"Oh, come on," Willow groaned. "What do you know about it?"

Xander raised an eyebrow in response.

"Hey, we just _kissed_," Willow said. "I mean, you don't know anything about me and the sex..."

"Well..."

Willow's eyes narrowed.

"You _don't_."

"Guys talk, Will."

Her jaw dropped open slightly.

"Oz?" she finally managed to say.

"It was right before he left," Xander admitted. "One of those parties we all went to, we, y'know, had a few drinks and compared notes."

"I'll _kill_ him."

"Hey, he felt really bad about it the next morning. Swore me to secrecy. I only bring it up because...well, words like enthusiastic and eager were used."

Willow blushed a deep crimson at that.

"My point is, you were into guys. Very much so. And once you were with Oz, you weren't exactly a shrinking violet."

"I--I--I--wait. Okay. I read about this. It's very common for lesbians to be very enthusiastic about heterosexual sex before they discover their sexuality! And even afterwards, they--_we_ can still have sexual thoughts about men!"

Xander was quiet for a moment.

"So you, uh, read about this, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Doing, what, research?"

Willow was quiet for a moment.

"Yeah."

"Because you, yourself, might have been having thoughts like--"

"Oh, _damn_!" Willow said.

"This is what I'm sayin'."

"This doesn't prove anything!"

Xander took a long swig of his coffee and rubbed his hands together. "I think...I think what you need to do is stop trying convince Tara that you're gay, and instead, just let her know that you want to be with her."

Willow sighed and picked off a little piece of his donut.

"What if she doesn't want to be with me after this?"

"Then she's a knucklehead." Xander finished his coffee. "I gotta get back to bangin' nails. You gonna be okay?"

"I guess," she said glumly. "Maybe I'll go over to the Magic Box."

"Tell Anya I said hi."

"Sure," Willow lied. They both stood and Xander pulled a ten-spot out of his pocket, laying it on the table.

"And, y'know, if things don't work out, you're always welcome on the other side..."

"Xander."

"All the guys have been asking about you."

"Oh, shut up."

"I'm just sayin'..."