When Jane said she'd be the man in a lesbian relationship, it was because Maura was so much not a man. Not mannish at all, yet Jane had insults and innuendo flung at her for daring to have the audacity to go hard at a male-oriented job, to like sports and be slightly taller than average. So it all made sense, that between the two of them Jane would be the man and Maura would be the woman.

She didn't think about the implication that she was putting herself next to Maura, or that the point of lesbians was that there were no men.

But when Maura asked Jane to dinner a few weeks later, and told her to wear a dress and flats, she didn't think much of it. Just went through her wardrobe, picking out the one dress she knew Maura liked, wondered if she should cave and let Maura take her dress shopping. Maura always looked amazing, and Jane could use the help. She hadn't been on a date in months.

When Jane answered the door, Maura was there in a sleek suit with tall boots, hair tied back sharply, dress shirt decidedly a little too unbuttoned. Despite her outfit, Maura still managed to look incredibly feminine. Her makeup was a little more than usual, to balance out the look, but as always she looked ready to strut a catwalk. Jane looked down at her dress with some regret; she was going to have to go dress shopping. She looked back to Maura and reached forward to do one more button up, and Maura's hands reached for her shoulders, pressed a hello kiss to her cheek as Jane's hands stuttered to a stop on Maura's chest.

"I thought we could switch it up tonight," Maura said by way of explanation as they went down the stairs. Even with Maura in heels and Jane in flats, Jane still felt like she was taller, and that gave her confidence. She didn't feel so much of a charade, of a sham. It put some of the swagger back into her step.

"Switch what up?"

"Well, maybe I don't like always being the woman in our relationship. And you sounded a little... resigned to being typecast as the man, so," Maura held the car door for Jane, and Jane watched her surprisingly dapper best friend walk around the hood to get in the driver's seat.

"Our relationship?" Jane asked, pulling her dress down over her thighs a little since it had ridden up, watching Maura eye the exposed skin. Maura merely shrugged and focused on the traffic.


"How did you like it?" Maura asked, sitting on the couch, untying her hair from the severe ponytail it had been restrained in, running her fingers over her scalp in relief. Jane hadn't bothered to get out of her dress, but she'd kicked her shoes off, and Maura had taken her boots off at the door.

"It was nice. I don't always... when I go on dates with actual men, they don't... listen like you do. They try to impress me, and my batting average always beats theirs." Jane eyed Maura as she unbuttoned that top button again. "You make a handsome man," Jane said. "But I think I prefer you comfortable, and I think that means your fancy dresses and stilettos and hairdos." Jane plopped herself next to Maura on the couch, leaned over and joined Maura in running her fingers through her hair.

"And I like you better when you're confident and comfortable, and you're not, not in a dress."

"So, experiment failed?" Jane asked, and Maura cleared her throat.

"You invited me in for coffee," Maura said nervously. "Given that I was playing the man, that means I... you..."

"You're also my friend, Mau," Jane said affectionately, trying to brush away the moment, but Maura was focused.

"An invitation to a male partner to 'come in for coffee' after a date is usually a signifier of sexual intent from the female," Maura said in a small voice.

"But that wasn't a date," Jane said, looking confused. "Was it?" She asked belatedly, watching Maura's face fall. "Aw, no I'm sorry, I didn't realise. I thought you were just having fun in a new outfit." Maura brushed her face and got to her feet, turning away from Jane. "No, don't go," Jane said, sounding panicked. If Maura left, they'd never speak about it again and usually that was how she dealt with these little moments with Maura. But she'd seen Maura's face and she couldn't let her leave, not knowing that Jane had hurt her. Maura struggled with her boots, and Jane came over to offer an arm to hold her steady. When Maura looked up, hand on Jane's elbow, Jane leaned in and kissed her, quickly, abruptly, almost too fast for Maura to parse, and Maura stopped. She kicked off her boots again and kissed Jane, pushing her back against the kitchen counter.

"That goddamn button," Jane said when Maura pulled away for a moment, her fingers dropping to it again before sliding down, tugging Maura's shirt from the pants, gasping as Maura kissed her neck. She could feel Maura's smile against her throat, then Maura pulled away, taking Jane's hand and leading her to the bedroom.


When Jane woke up, she wasn't surprised that Maura was there; she hadn't been surprised at waking up to Maura in her bed for a while now. But they were considerably less dressed than usual, and Maura was curled up comfortably like a cat on Jane's chest. Jane had made the first move the night before, and that was traditionally the male role. Jane nodded to herself and ran her hand over Maura's bare back as she stirred.

"Told you I'd be the man," Jane chuckled.