This is my S/T Secret Valentine's exchange gift for lifeauthoredbymusic! Happy Valentine's (And Galentine's) Day!

"What's Galentine's Day? Oh, it's only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It's like Lilith Fair…minus the angst. Plus fritattas."

So spoke Sybil Crawley's ultimate fictional hero, Leslie Knope, in an episode of Parks and Recreation that Sybil swore to this day had changed her life. And thus a tradition had been started—that every year on the day before Valentine's Day, Sybil organized a breakfast-for-dinner celebration for her friends and family, all the women in her life that she admired and loved so dearly. It was ten times better than Valentine's Day could ever be, in her opinion—romantic love was easy in itself to find and cherish and talk about, and it was so highly prized and sought after, but friendships, especially friendships between women, weren't as highly valued. And they should be, in Sybil's opinion. Why should romantic love be the be-all, end-all of a person's life? What if she had friends that she loved just as much as they loved their significant others? Shouldn't that be celebrated too?

And so, at Sybil's insistence, on February 13th, her friends and sisters all gathered together for dinner and drinks and to exchange little Galentine's Day gifts. For the first few years of the tradition, it had been a major hit, the highlight of everyone's February and something to look forward to. But as the years had worn on, a shift had occurred as more and more of Sybil's friends started to get serious with someone, settle down and get married. First Daisy and William, a spur-of-the-moment decision that neither of them had ever regretted, then Anna and John, then Mary and Matthew, after so many years of will-they-won't-they, then Gwen, settling down happily with the love of her life, John Harding, then Rose and Atticus, one after another until finally, the most recent, Edith and Bertie who'd tied the knot just four months previously. After that, Sybil had come to the shocking realization that, among her closest friends and family, she was the only one who was still single.

The only one.

Not that she really minded, and not that Sybil wasn't happy for them—of course she was! Watching the people she cared about most in the world married and happy…who wouldn't love that?

No, what Sybil didn't love was that it seemed to her like her married friends were slowly but surely drifting away from her, and Galentine's Day was falling to the wayside. Especially as her friends started having kids, which had begun in the last couple of years, suddenly getting everyone together on February 13th had started to become more of a chore. This year had been the hardest yet—Anna wasn't even here, having decided that dinner out wasn't the best thing for her while dealing with a difficult, sickness-inducing pregnancy. Some of the others had had to practically be coerced into going, and—worst of all, in Sybil's mind—instead of their favorite 24-hour breakfast place, this year they were celebrating at a real restaurant, a pub to be exact, with hardly a waffle or a piece of French toast in sight. All of it added up to the fact that Sybil was feeling more and more like her friends were growing up and starting their real lives and leaving her behind, and she was stuck in a place where she couldn't follow them.

Not that she was going to let these feelings get in the way of celebrating Galentine's Day, mind you. Sybil was determined to have a good time tonight, no matter what.

She'd been the first to arrive at the pub, securing their table and setting out bright pink gift bags at every chair, her Galentine's Day gifts for her friends waiting to be opened. One by one her friends had filed in—first Mary and Rose, then Edith, then Gwen rushing in and going right to Sybil to say hello—until they were all there and the first round of drinks had been ordered. Although Sybil still missed the traditional Galentine's breakfast feast, she had to admit that the food here was good—she had never been to this pub before, but already she was thinking it might be worth a return gifts had been exchanged (Sybil had received everything from books and gift cards to bath products, ensuring that she at least had some kind of plan for how she was spending Valentine's Day tomorrow night) and they were just enjoying dinner and each other's company. Several conversations were going on at once, and Sybil sat back in her chair, content that, despite the setbacks, Galentine's Day seemed to be turning into a success after all.

"Sybil, darling, how's your love life going?" Rose asked suddenly, and Sybil rolled her eyes. Apparently, she had spoken too soon.

"No couples talk on Galentine's Day," she said immediately. "That's the rule."

"You made that up," Rose said immediately.

Sybil fidgeted, reaching for one of the chips on her plate and swirling it through a puddle of ketchup. "Well, it should be a rule."

"I haven't seen you in weeks, Sybil, humor me."

"You seriously expect that I've entered some sort of relationship since the last time you saw me?" Sybil asked.

"How should I know? You're so secretive about these sort of things."

"Leave Sybil alone," Edith piped up. "You know how she is. She likes to take her time when it comes ot relationships. She's been so busy—university, her thesis, her new job—how do you expect her to find time to date?"

"Thank you, Edith. At least someone's on my side."

"Well, now that she's done with uni and her Master's and has a cozy new job, I just thought her social calendar might have opened up." Rose smirked suddenly, following Sybil's gaze as she glanced up towards the bar. "Or maybe it has, and you just don't want to tell me."

"What?" Sybil asked, distracted.

"Of course. Sorry. How can you focus on anything when Mr. Hot Irish Barman has been eyeing you all night?" Rose whispered theatrically, causing the entire table to laugh.

She nearly choked on her drink, looking at Rose in alarm. "I don't know what you're talking about!" Sybil protested.

"Then why were you staring at the bar?"

Sybil stared at her, willing her mouth to work. "I-I was thinking of going to get another drink. Maybe a margarita this time. If you're going to grill me about my personal life on a day that's supposed to be all about friendships, then I'm definitely going to need some tequila."

"Rose, I don't think—"Mary began, but their cousin cut her off.

"It's all right to look at him, Sybil! He's been giving you bedroom eyes all night, if you'd care to notice. Oh, he is yummy. All that muscle—"

"Rose, you're married!"

"That doesn't mean I can't shop around—or that I don't notice when someone clearly has the hots for my beautiful, successful, talented, very available cousin. I'm married, not blind."

"Rose!"

"What? It's just an innocent observation—"

"This is not what Galentine's Day is about!" Sybil protested, turning beet red as her friends suddenly started glancing up towards the bar, trying to see if Rose had been telling the truth and trying to scope out the bartender for themselves. "We're supposed to be celebrating our love for each other, not scoping out men for me—"

"Well, where's the fun in that?" Rose pouted, reaching for her wine. The others laughed again, and Sybil rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Sybil, Rose might have a point," Mary chimed in. "We just want you to be happy, and he is rather attractive—"

"But I'm happy now," Sybil protested. "I'm…content. I don't need a man to make me happy."

"Well, of course you don't need one," Mary agreed quickly. "No one's trying to tell you that you do. But…would it really be so bad if you had one?"

Sybil gave a half-hearted shrug, taking a careful bite of her food. "I guess not, if it will make you feel any better. But not tonight, okay? Can we just go a few hours without one of you trying to set me up with someone?"

"We're just looking out for you, Sybil," Rose assured her, patting her shoulder. "And trust me—this guy? He's a total catch."

Sybil glared at her until her cousin shrugged, turning to Mary to talk about something or other. Sybil waited an appropriate amount of time before casually shooting a glance over her shoulder at the bar. She hadn't been checking out the bartender, no matter what Rose thought she'd seen, but now that she'd mentioned him…she supposed there was no harm in another look.

His back was to her at first, and all she could see was a tall, broad-shouldered man in a dark Henley reaching up over the bar for some wine glasses. Even through his shirt, she could see the muscles Rose had mentioned, and she blushed to discover that her cousin had been right about one thing, at least. His hair looked a light brown (although it was admittedly a little hard to tell in the light of the pub), and Sybil found herself unable to look away, not until he'd turned around, anyway.

She almost held her breath as he turned, reaching for a bottle of white wine and expertly pouring three glasses before looking up.

Damn.

He was hot.

He was really, really hot.

Rose had been right.

But not only was he ridiculously attractive, he seemed real and approachable in a way that some hot guys never did. Sybil felt as if she might actually be able to hold a conversation with this man, whoever he was. She wasn't intimidated by him in the slightest, only intrigued...and very, very attracted to him.

Damn Rose and her powers of observation.

Suddenly he seemed to realize that someone was looking at him, and he glanced up. Sybil's heart thudded to a stop as their eyes locked.

His eyes were very, very blue.

He smiled, and Sybil, caught entirely unprepared, turned away just in time for her friends to howl with laughter.

"I hate you all," Sybil mumbled, mortified.

"You're not even going to go over and say hello?" Rose hissed in her ear sometime later, one the giggles had died down and Sybil was feeling a little bit less like she had suddenly become twelve years old again in the school cafeteria.

"Well, yes, if I want another drink I will."

The look Rose gave her could have peeled the paint off the walls. "You know what I mean."

"Rose, really," Mary cut in, but Rose was already getting to her feet, reaching for her purse. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to visit the ladies'. And then maybe I'll get another drink."

"Rose, please!" Sybil and Mary protested in almost perfect unison, but Rose was already slipping away.

"Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match…" Gwen sang under her breath, and Sybil snorted and shoved her lightly.

"Don't you start with me now too," she pleaded to her best friend.

"Rose only wants to see you happy, although she has a rather…aggressive way of showing it. But I won't go that far. Let's talk about something else."

"How are the twins doing, Rose?" Mary asked with interest. She and Matthew had been trying to have a baby of their own for about two months now, and babies were obviously on her mind.

But Gwen shook her head, smiling at Sybil. "Oh no, we can talk about them later. This is Sybil's party, and right now, I want to hear all about how your new job is going! Don't leave anything out."

A little while later, when Rose had returned and Sybil felt that the conversations were starting to come to a natural lag, Sybil cleared her throat and stood up from her chair, raising her glass high. The other ladies followed suit.

"Ah yes, the traditional toast," Rose announced, and Sybil nudged her and laughed. "I've been looking forward to it all night."

"You're a horrible liar, Rose Aldridge, but I love you for it." Sybil smiled and raised her glass high. "Here we are, another Galentine's Day. I want to thank you all for leaving all the wonderful men in your life at home tonight and coming out to celebrate the beautiful friendships that keep us going no matter what…"

"Sybil, my arm is getting tired—"

"I know that…to some of you this might be starting to seem like a childish, silly tradition, but it really means a lot to me that you still come out and have a good time anyway. Happy Galentine's Day, my dear, dear friends. To Galentine's Day, and to ladies celebrating ladies!"

"Ladies celebrating ladies," they echoed, and drank.

"Now, I have to admit, I've heard some interesting toasts around here, but that is not one I hear every day."

Sybil felt her face growing red as she looked up into the face of the bartender, now holding an overflowing tray of shots (one that she did not remember ordering, and she wondered just who she had to blame for its existence) that he was diligently passing out. Sybil was handed a shotglass full of something frothy and pink that smelled distinctly like strawberries and cream, and tried not to smile. However had ordered these, at least they'd gotten her favorite flavor right.

"We didn't order any—"

"I did," Rose sing-songed. "I knew the traditional toast was coming and I couldn't resist a little fun. He's a little bit late, but that doesn't matter. Besides, the shots are half-off tonight and Valentine's themed."

"It's not Valentine's Day, it's Galentine's Day," Sybil mumbled, but her protests went ignored as always. Edith caught her eye and gave an awkward shrug as she accepted a chocolate-covered strawberry flavored shot. Sybil supposed she might be being just a tad bit harsh with them all, but she couldn't help it…although part of her was suddenly incredibly grateful to Rose for bringing the bartender over. He looked even more handsome up close, which she hadn't noticed before when she'd simply been going up to the bar to order drinks. He really did have nice eyes…and his smile, which he offered her now, lit up his entire face and made Sybil's heart race in a way that she really wished she could ignore.

"I have to ask…Galentine's Day?" He sounded out the unfamiliar word as if he were speaking a foreign language, and his efforts were so sweet and endearing that Sybil had to laugh as he finished handing out the last of the shots.

"It's from a television show," Rose explained, and Sybil rolled her eyes.

"Well, yes, it's from a television show, but it's so much more than that, Rose! It's a brilliant idea and should really be adapted into a national holiday. Couples get Valentine's Day, mums get Mother's Day and dads get Father's Day, but where's the day for celebrating friendships, hmm?" She turned to the bartender so she could address him fully. "Galentine's Day comes from the American sitcom Parks and Recreation, and it's the day before Valentine's Day. It's about celebrating friendships, particularly friendships between women, before all the fuss with romantic love on Valentine's Day. It's a genius idea."

"I like that, actually," he agreed. "Friendships don't often get the credit they deserve. That's a really cool thing to do, actually.

"See?" Sybil said triumphantly.

"Oh, now look what you've done, Mr. Barman," Rose said conspiratorially. "You've agreed with Sybil. You'll be her friend for life now."

"Does that mean I get to celebrate with you ladies? Or do I not count because I'm not a gal?" He grinned. "And for future reference, my name is Tom. You ladies enjoy the rest of your evening." He gave them a little nod, his gaze and his smile lingering on Sybil, before he turned to head back to the bar.

"All right, we've got a name. Step one complete," Sybil heard Rose say.

"Tom," she whispered.

After that, Tom managed to find a few ways to return to their table—bringing them more drinks, offering them some desserts on the house after a mix-up in the kitchen, coming to check how on how they were doing. Rose was grinning like the cat who'd gotten the cream, and thankfully seemed to consider her job done now that Tom had clearly decided he had a reason to keep frequenting their party.

"He's clearly interested," she said in Sybil's ear.

"He's just being polite."

It wasn't until Daisy announced that she was exhausted and had an exam to study for (she had recently decided to go back to uni to finish her degree, a choice that Sybil was incredibly proud of her for) and that she should get going that Sybil began to suspect that something might be amiss…especially when, ten minutes after Daisy had said her goodbyes, Gwen told the table that she should be calling it a night as well.

"Oh, come on, Gwen!" Sybil protested, pointing at her friend's plate. "You haven't even finished your food!"

"I'm stuffed, Sybil, honestly. I shouldn't have filled up on all those appetizers!"

"If we'd just done breakfast for dinner like we usually do, this wouldn't be happening," Sybil grumbled.

"Sybil, you know you're not actually Leslie Knope, right?" Rose asked. Sybil stuck her tongue out at her.

"I'm really sorry, Sybil, I just hate to leave John all by himself with the twins for this long. I don't want to overwhelm him."

"They're his kids too. He can pull his own weight for one night," Sybil muttered.

"Sybil!" Mary cried out, looking shocked.

"I know he can, Sybil, but they're still getting over their ear infections, and I really should get going. I'm so sorry."

Sybil was silent for a long moment before finally nodding. "Of course. I'm sorry—I shouldn't have overreacted. I'm glad you could come, Gwen. Give John and the babies my love."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

Gwen too, said her goodbyes and left, and Rose looked triumphant.

"I see what you're trying to do," Mary hissed in her ear.

"Then you should know that you're next."

"I hate to bring this up, but I should probably be getting a move on myself," Mary said loudly after a dirty look from Rose that Sybil, taking a sip of her drink, missed entirely. "Matthew and I are going away for the weekend and I haven't even begun to think about packing."

"You're kidding me. You? Not packed yet? I'm so shocked, I'm glad I was sitting down," Sybil deadpanned, but when she saw her sister reaching for her purse, she almost leapt to her feet in protest. "Come on, Mary, you haven't even gotten dessert yet! You know it's your favorite part of any meal."

Mary raised an eyebrow. "I think you might be confusing me with my husband. He's the one with the troubling addiction to cake."

They all laughed, Sybil included. It took some convincing, and finally Sybil allowed Mary to leave as well, kissing her on the cheek just as Tom appeared again.

"You've lost some people since the last time I checked in on you," he observed. "Everything all right?"

"Oh yes, it's just getting late. Sometimes I forget they have lives of their own, you know."

"Lives? Please. What are those?" Tom said cheekily, clearing away some of the empty glasses.

"You don't have to do that, our server should be—"

"Why make more work for her? I'm happy to do it. Although I'm sure I'm not quite as good company as they are," he added with a wink, and Sybil laughed.

"You'd be surprised."

He lingered for a few minutes more, cracking jokes and not-so-subtly flirting with Sybil, although she found she no longer minded as much as she thought she would. In fact, she rather liked it.

When he returned from clearing the glasses, he announced that he was on a break, and he and Sybil immediately got to chatting about work and school and life, and Sybil soon found she was so absorbed in the conversation that she didn't notice as the rest of her guests, Edith included, had slowly begun to slip away, making their exits so as not to disturb Sybil and Tom's conversation. Finally, Rose was the only one left, and she too took her leave, although not before whispering into Sybil's ear that not to worry, dinner was on her tonight, and she should stay as long as she wanted.

And then, just like that, Sybil was alone.

"It seems I've been abandoned," she told Tom matter-of-factly, and he laughed. "And I'm sure I have Rose to thank for that."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but is it awful of me if I admit that I'm not too broken up about having you all to myself?"

Sybil smiled, reaching for her purse. "Not at all. But your break is probably up soon, and I'd feel horrible if I stayed at that table all night when somebody else could have it. Would it be at all possible to move this conversation back over to the bar?"

And so they did, talking about everything that they could think of—Tom's childhood in Ireland, Sybil's dissertation and her new job, their favorite movies and shows and books. She felt like she knew almost everything there was to know about him already after just one night. The more they talked, the more time seemed to fly, and soon the pub was all but empty and Tom was wiping down the bar. Sybil checked her phone—three texts from Edith, four from Mary, and no less than 19 from Rose, all asking how things were going—and looked up at Tom. "I don't think I've ever stayed at a pub until it closed before. I can't believe how late it is.'

"I'm glad you stayed."

She smiled. "Me too."

"If you're not in a hurry, I'm off in five. Let me clock out and get my things, we can walk out together. Maybe even share a cab—it's bound to be icy on a night like this. If you…if you want to."

"I'd love to," Sybil said immediately, already finding she was dreading having to say goodbye to him. For once, Rose and her meddling had been a good thing.

He smiled and slipped away into the back, reappearing a few minutes later with his coat. He held the door open for Sybil and they tried to spot a cab, standing close to each other on the freezing sidewalk.

"I hope your Galentine's Day celebration was a success," Tom said suddenly. "It was certainly fun to watch."

"It was great," she replied immediately. "Honestly…probably one of the best ones ever, although it didn't start out that way. Tomorrow night is going to pale in comparison, I'm sure."

"Most likely."

A little silence fell between them, the first real one of the evening, and Sybil searched for something to say.

"So what about you?" she asked finally, slipping her hands into the pockets of her coat. "I never asked. Do you have any big plans for Valentine's Day tomorrow?"

"I didn't until pretty recently," Tom admitted. "But now, you know what? I think—I hope—I'm going to be taking out this girl that I only met recently, but I'm pretty sure that I'm already pretty crazy about."

"Oh…wow," Sybil said, smiling at him in surprise, and maybe even a little disappointment. "That's…that's great."

"The thing is, I haven't exactly asked her yet, and I'm running out of chances to do it, so…I figure I might as well just take the plunge, right?"

"Right," she said absently.

"Sybil."

"Yes?"

"Will you go out with me tomorrow night?"

Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open in shock. In retrospect, she supposed it should have been obvious, but she couldn't help the giddy feeling of surprise that had come over her. "I…I'd love to."

"Then it's a date," Tom said delightedly. "Although I'm sure nothing I come up with could ever top tonight…"

Sybil cut him off, leaning up to kiss his lips gently. "I don't know," she whispered, pulling back just enough to look into his eyes. "You just might."