"Huzzah!"
Courtney: (after Monty kisses her) What are you doing?
Monty: I'm ending our friendship.
(They kiss again more passionately.)
Monty: I'm ending our friendship.
(They kiss again more passionately.)
The moment when two characters become an Official Couple.
There may have been Unresolved Sexual Tension earlier, romantic feelings on either side or even an unmistakable Held Gaze or two, but that was all on paper. This is it, the actual relationship. It's happening, starting now. In a work, it's that point where until further notice there's no more sense in asking Will They or Won't They?. In Real Life, it's that point beyond which you'd feel justified calling the other person "my boyfriend/girlfriend." Expect the Shipper on Deck for this particular couple to be proud of them and/or jumping on joy. For The Matchmaker, this is often their Series Goal. If the characters they're trying to hook up finally successfully get together, expect them to rejoice and declare "Mission Accomplished". Ideally, the desired result of "Notice Me" Desire.
This is the kind of plot development that gets an audience's attention, so it is often seen in parts of the plot where it is imperative for the story to do just that (e.g. in delivering a Plot Twist or a Cliffhanger, or as a cherry on top of the series Grand Finale). If the relationship was a major source of tension in the work, and the writers don't plan for introducing a new source of this nature instead of the one they just blew apart with this big bang of a payoff, they might find out the audience is not as interested in the story any more.
Most commonly broadcasted with a First Kiss, but every once in a while you find a more… drastic variant (Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex comes to mind). A move from casual to serious can involve I Got You a Drawer. Compare Relationship Reveal — a moment where an implied but existing couple becomes canon. Similarly, compare Relationship Gone Public, when a Secret Relationship is revealed in-universe; if the move from secret to public coincides with the relationship getting more serious, then these two tropes would overlap. Contrast Derailing Love Interests — where a relationship downgrade happens to a Romantic False Lead so an Official Couple can be hooked up. Though they often coincide (e.g. in a Last-Minute Hookup) the two are far from synonymous; a Relationship Upgrade can be the beginning of hardships, trials and tribulations that the relationship may not survive at all.
See Significant Name Shift. Not to be confused with characters upgrading their abilities by socialization.
WARNING: Due to the inherent nature of this trope, the examples below will be spoiler-heavy.
Examples:
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Comic Books
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In season 10 Buffy and Spike hook up. Fans rejoiced.
- In Garfield, Liz has somehow fallen for Jon after years of begrudgingly dating him and the two are now the Official Couple. This can be considered a good thing given Jon's status in life.
- Guardians of the Galaxy: While Star Lord and Kitty Pryde had been seeing each other for some time, both refused to admit that they were boyfriend and girlfriend to their respective teammates. It took the events of The Black Vortex for them to come right out and say it, eventually concluding with Peter proposing to Kitty, and Kitty accepting his proposal.
- New 52: Superman and Wonder Woman become a couple since Justice League # 12. Then they broke up and the Superman married to Lois (see above) came back.
- Robin (1993): Tim and Steph have a sort of flirting relationship in their masked identities which Tim sort of tries to discourage since he already had a girlfriend at the time and knew he'd never get Batman's permission to tell Steph his secret identity. After she saves his life and he kisses her in thanks he quickly goes to end his already failed relationship with Ari (though she breaks up with him before he can get the words out) and informs Steph that any relationship they were to have would have to stick to their costumed ids. When Steph makes it clear this isn't an issue for her they quickly upgrade to official status, and start going on dates in costume.
- Karolina and Nico from Runaways seemed doomed to forever be stuck in Will They or Won't They? status until they finally got together in the 2017 relaunch of the series. Their Big Damn Kiss was the culmination of over a decade (in real time; two years in canon) of romantic tension. The TV adaptation decided to fast-track things and have them become a couple at the end of the first season.
- Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers finally declare their love for one another in Vol. 4.
- At some point during the eight-month Time Skip between Serenity (2005) and Serenity: Leaves on the Wind, Mal and Inara became a couple, resolving their Belligerent Sexual Tension from Firefly.
- Superman: Clark and Lois were casually dating already, but the Relationship Upgrade happens in "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite", when he proposes. Word of God is that she was supposed originally to turn him down because of her torch for Superman, but then they realized that simply wasn't the Lois they were writing anymore.
- X-23.Subverted when Hellion attempts to push one in issue 19. Throughout the arc Laura has been standoffish and avoiding talking to Julian, who spends the entire arc trying to talk to her. Finally, he tries to invoke this trope by planting a Forceful Kiss on her, and tells her how much the kiss is going to change things. Laura, however, permanently breaks off their relationship instead by telling him she no longer has feelings for him. Julian's angry outburst in response finishes off their friendship, as well (though Laura admits to Gambit she still cares for him at the end of the issue).
- X-Factor characters Rictor and Shatterstar spent a few years seeming like Heterosexual Life-Partners, with the author planning to reveal that they weren't so hetero after all. He got moved off the book before this could happen, and it wasn't until much later that another writer had them finally start dating.
Films — Animation
- How to Train Your Dragon 2: It was pretty much settled already, but when Hiccup and Astrid kiss at the end, their relationship is set in stone. They're a couple now, and always will be.
- Ratatouille: Following The Big Damn Kiss, Colette and Linguini go from master-and-apprentice to full-on lovers.
- Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken: Ruby has a crush on Connor, a high school student who likes to skateboard, and she helps him as her math tutor. Connor also shows signs of liking her when they talk about the prom. After the battle with Nerissa, they become a couple a few days after the prom.
Films — Live-Action
- All three film versions of Annie (1982, 1999 and 2014) have Warbucks (or, in the 2014 version Stacks) and Grace become an Official Couple in the end. While in the stage version there's some Ship Tease between them, their actual upgrade is put off until the sequel Annie Warbucks, but in the screen versions the romance is definite. The 1999 version even has them become engaged.
- An unusual example in Attack on Titan: In the original manga/anime, Eren and Mikasa are adoptive siblings in an Ambiguous Situation. The film version removes the sibling angle and ambiguity, and makes them a full-blown Official Couple.
- The Babysitter (2017): At the start of the film, Melanie is Cole's 12-year old neighbor and his only friend at school. Things change after Cole ends up having to protect himself and Melanie from his psychopathic babysitter, Bee and her friends. The ordeal brings Cole and Melanie closer together - advancing their relationship from just friends, to puppy love.
- Clara: Around midway into the film, Isaac gets together with Clara after they fall for each other and have sex. Previously, she had just been his assistant, though they both grew steadily closer.
- Erin's Guide to Kissing Girls: Erin and Liz are best friends who become a couple at the end of the film, which is signified by them sharing a Dance of Romance in the school hallway.
- The Innocent (2022): Abel and Clémence start out as close friends and coworkers, but admit romantic feelings for each other in the climax before getting together. This mutual confession is also an Exploited Trope, since it distracts the driver long enough for Jean-Paul and Michel to steal the caviar he's transporting.
- Marvel Cinematic Universe:
- After years of Unresolved Sexual Tension and Tony's sleeping around, he and Pepper finally get together at the end of Iron Man 2.
- In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter and Michelle have an awkward romance throughout the movie, but don't know how to tell each other. Peter tries many times to tell Michelle he likes her, but is interrupted. By the end of the movie, Peter finally tells MJ he loves her and they become an Official Couple after sharing their first kiss.
- Me And You And Everyone We Know ends with Richard finally giving Christine a chance after his Commitment Issues have gotten in the way of starting a relationship with her. She agrees to his offer to meet his children, comes to his house, and they non-verbally get together by sharing a deeply intimate embrace and holding hands in his front yard.
- Modesty Blaise and her sidekick in the 1967 movie version (and they sing about it). This is one of the reasons The Movie is considered Canon Discontinuity.
- Our Miss Brooks: In The Movie Grand Finale: When Mr. Boynton kisses Miss Brooks after driving home from Crystal Bay, the two move onto a First-Name Basis. By the end, another misunderstanding in cleared up, and Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks marry and live Happily Ever After.
- After Gladys confesses her love to Dr. Manners in Please Turn Over, he reveals to her that the feeling is mutual and the two embrace, leading to a kiss.
- The final scenes between Mervyn and Miranda, and Malcolm and Jill in Raising the Wind have them becoming couples, sealed with a Big Damn Kiss.
- Simon and Kaylee finally get it on at the very end of Serenity. They should've checked the ceiling before they chose their base of operations.
- Twice Round the Daffodils:
- As Chris takes his first walk 'round the daffodils, he tries to tell Nurse Beamish he loves her. Nurse Beamish reveals she's known for ages but shares his feelings.
- Long after Joyce leaves him, Bob starts to fall for Nurse Catty, but worries he's only on the rebound, while Nurse Catty thinks he still wishes he had Joyce. Ian gets the two together and tells them straight up what they think, and so Bob gives her a Big Damn Kiss.
Music
- Deconstructed in the Barenaked Ladies song "Conventioneers." The first three verses describe a man having a romantic passionate evening with a woman he's had a crush on for a long time, musing about how he wants to marry and grow old with her the whole time. Immediately after they have sex, he decides that it wasn't worth it and leaves while she's sleeping, secretly hoping that they never see each other again (which is really awkward, as it's revealed that they're co-workers).
Theatre
- Quality Street (1901): Phoebe has romantic feelings for Valentine, but thinks he is not interested due to growing old. After Phoebe disguises herself to charm Valentine, the latter admits he is in love with the real Phoebe. And it ends with Valentine proposing to Phoebe, which she gladly accepts.
Video Games
- This is essentially the point of all Dating Sims and most Visual Novels.
- Shaun and Rebecca get a massive upgrade from Friends with Benefits to married in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, although it's very likely the two had begun dating somewhere between Unity and Origins and the player was left unaware.
- Mass Effect series:
- Tali and Garrus have forged a strong bond with Player Character Commander Shepard due to the events in the first game to the point where they both trust him/her unconditionally. Depending on both Shepard's gender and choices, the relationship he/she has with these two characters can turn into a romantic one.
- In the third game, it's possible to start an entirely new romance with any of the first game's love interests. This includes a male Shepard and Kaidan (though not Femshep and Ashley).
"It does. It does feel right. After all this time. You and me."
- The third game also had a moment: if neither Tali nor Garrus was romanced and both survived the suicide mission in ME2, you can walk in on them hugging. Their embarrassed attempts at making up an excuse (she asked him to check her helmet for a rupture) to Shepard are both hilarious and heartwarming.
Garrus: Guess it helps to have something to come back to.
Tali: What do you mean, 'something to come back to'? (in a flirty tone) This is just a fling, Vakarian; I'm using you for your body...!
Garrus: You're so mean... and I'm okay with that.
- In the later Persona games, reaching a certain rank in your social link with a girl (or boy, if you're playing Persona 3 Portable) will give you the option to pursue a closer relationship. This can happen with every girl you Social Link with, and if you're already dating one, there's no reason why you can't date more note . Notoriously, completing a romanceable girl's Social Link (and thus unlocking more Personas) in the original versions of Persona 3 actually required you to accept a Relationship Upgrade; later games made it possible to complete all S-Links while still remaining genuinely faithful to one girl/boy. This maybe happens at the end of the original Persona 1; "Ideal" Maki kisses the protagonist right before they leave each other, and when the cast reunites in the final scene, the protagonist and "real" Maki show up together.
- In the 2018 Spider-Man video game, Peter and Mary Jane reconcile their relationship at the end of the game, which continues into the DLC's after the main story.
- Played with in Tales of Legendia. Senel and Shirley had a 'bread winner and homemaker' set up pre-main story but at the time they were pretending to be siblings. At the end of the Main Narrative they accidentally enact the ferines engagement ritual and the local deity approved but at the start of Side Story they still feel like siblings.
- To the Moon had a healthy dose of Ship Tease between Neil and Eva since the first game, but this trope finally happens in a comic follow-up to the third game, Impostor Factory.
Visual Novels
- Amnesia: Memories plays with this trope by having the heroine already having performed a relationship upgrade with the respective boyfriend on the routes, especially when it comes to Shin and Toma, as they were childhood friends with the heroine. Amnesia: Later involves performing the next relationship upgrade to becoming engaged, and Amnesia: Crowd performs the next step to marriage.
- Downplayed in Daughter for Dessert. The closest thing to a moment is when the protagonist announces his choice of a girlfriend to his whole staff. However, the choice is in the making for a long time before that.
- Double Homework:
- The moment when the protagonist needs to choose between Johanna and Tamara and a girl from his class. Afterwards, he and whichever girl(s) he chooses will officially be an item.
- A subverted example can appear with Lauren, who will only go all the way with the protagonist if he will agree to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but that doesn’t preclude him from dating other girls as well.
- After the title character of Melody (2019) moves in with the protagonist (on her romantic path), her relationship status on the information screen changes from “Single” to “In a relationship.”
- The Mystic Messenger Christmas DLC features one for the main character and Jaehee... sort of. In the original game, Jaehee's route is extremely ambiguous: she repeatedly talks about their great friendship, at one point saying at the end that while romance between a man and a woman is powerful that the friendship between two women is also powerful, but also does many things that indicate romantic feelings, such as when she says near the end that she's so thankful to have met the main character and that she's slowly beginning to understand how she feels about her. In the Christmas DLC, however, romantic feelings are stated outright: in an option reading '(Go to her and tell her your feelings),' the blushing MC kisses Jaehee's cheek while she's asleep and has the option to say 'One day... I'm going to tell you how I truly feel...' After this, Jaehee says in a chat 'Perhaps... I've developed feelings over you without knowing.' But though their feelings are each confirmed to the audience, neither hears on-screen of the others' feelings. But, as Jaehee confessed in a public chat, it can be assumed that the main character would read it later and, presumably, they would get together. So while the actual coupling doesn't happen on-screen, the text finally confirms that they do feel that way and that it will happen.
Webcomics
- Nolan and Gretha from Bits And Bytes Their relationship is shown very naturally with getting to know each other, becoming friends, having feelings for one another, going on a first date, having arguments and make-ups and eventually Nolan asking Gretha to move in with him.
- Crimson Knights: In the arftermath of Brennus Cliff's fall, Erikr accidentally confesses that she loves Judoch, who reciprocates her feelings.
- In Girl Genius, Pix and Abner start out as coworkers with Belligerent Sexual Tension and upgrade to dating shortly after Agatha joins the circus.
- Gunnerkrigg Court: After a lot of Ship Tease, Parley's experience with the ghost of Jeanne leads her to finally admitting her feelings for Andrew.
- Homestuck:
- After two years trapped in the meteor with her, Rose - coy about it as she is with her brother - arranges what she clearly intends as her first date with Kanaya.
- Tons of these throughout the comic, actually, some of them occur onscreen and others we only see the aftermath of (in some cases, the upgrade and a subsequent downgrade both occur during a time skip, so it's over before readers know that there was more to it than flirting or pretending to in order to yank Karkat's chain).
- Late in Ménage à 3's run, new minor characters Jane and Vince go from something like Platonic Life-Partners to official couple — while having sex. It's all very Ménage à 3.
- In Nerf NOW!!, after years of slowly upgrading from teammates to friends to lovers, Morgan and Jane finally get married.
- Penny and Aggie:
- Sara and Daphne go from friends, to not on speaking terms (when Daphne, bitter over her Unrequited Love, decided to believe the "rape" slander against Sara), then back to friends again, and finally to lovers. Towards the end, they break up and go back to "not on speaking terms" before the epilogue eventually reveals that they decided that they were Better as Friends and are in relationships with other people.
- Brandi and Stan go from Friends with Benefits to an exclusive relationship.
- The title characters go from enemies to friends to lovers. They eventually break up off screen, but have a Maybe Ever After in the epilogue.
- At the end of Scary Go Round, Amy and Ryan are friends likely to get together. After a three-year Time Skip, the follow-up strip Bad Machinery sees them recently married.
- In Slightly Damned, Buwaro and Kieri finally kiss after Buwaro gets seriously injured trying to defend Kieri.
- Torg and Zoe from Sluggy Freelance, after years of Torg having unspoken, unrequited feelings her, have slowly gotten to the point where they frequently go on what may or may not be dates.
- Aubrey and Jason in Something*Positive. For a long time part of the group of friends the comic centres on, they're now married and have adopted a daughter.
- In Tripping Over You, Milo and Liam get theirs early on, in chapter 2. Their now established relationship arguably sets the course for the further comic.
- Unsounded: Elka and Toma take until the final chapters to admit to each other they're even interested in a romantic relationship, which Elka finds hard to believe of Toma. It is only in the epilogue of Book 1 that they make a non work commitment to each other and finally kiss.
Web Originals
- Anon:
- Chelsea can't stand Tucker for the first half of Season 1. By Season 2, they're an official couple, and by Season 5 they're married.
- Dani and Hunter have a twenty year long on/off romance and two children together before finally at the beginning of Season 7 they get married.
- Candace and Ryan are initially introduced as a platonic friendship, however they eventually realise their feelings for each other and seal their relationship with a kiss at the end of Season 6.
- In Classic Alice, Alice and Andrew start dating after a few years of friendship.
- Critical Role: Vax'ildan and Keyleth finally make their pairing canon in Episode 65.
- In The Debbie and Carrie Show, the title characters start out as best friends, but after some hesitation they become lovers, because Debbie is lesbian while Carrie is bisexual.
- The Magnus Archives: Jonathan Sims initially greatly dislikes Martin Blackwood in Season One. However, during the course of Seasons Two and Three, he starts warming up to Martin and they become friends. In Season Four’s “The Last”, Jonathan, having realized that he’s in love with Martin, saves him from The Lonely and they become a couple.
- The Music Freaks: Childhood friends, Zander and Luke become boyfriends in "A Drummer's Confession".
- RWBY:
- Ren and Nora finally have a proper conversation about how they feel about each other during the Solitas Arc, putting to bed once and for all what the nature of their relationship is. In Volume 8, they discuss the fact they're in love with each other, but Nora has just been on a mission Ruby, Weiss and Blake, which made her realise that she has no idea who she is without Ren. As a result, she tells Ren that she needs to find out she is as a person before she can commit to another; this is something Ren has no problem with. As a result, they're not in a relationship but they have promised themselves to each other once Nora's ready to commit.
- Blake and Yang discuss what their relationship is in Volume 9, due to the world's Empathic Environment forcing them to address it. A "punderstorm" is a thunderstorm that manifests as a mental or emotional puzzle for individuals caught in the storm to solve. Blake and Yang are trapped at opposite ends of a rope bridge and the only way to make it safely to the central platform is to start talking about the things they've never said to each other. This results in them admitting they're in love with each other and kissing. Once their friends find out, the only response is that everyone's been waiting forever for that to happen.
- Welcome to Night Vale: Cecil's very vocal crush on Carlos is a running gag throughout the series, but in Ep. 25, Carlos indicates for the first time that the feelings are mutual. As of Ep. 27, the two are dating and despite a few rough patches they're still together as of Ep. 72.
- In Worm, this occurs after Brian realizes his feelings for Taylor, though they aren't sure what they are after that.
- A number of other characters get together over the course of the story. Dragon and Defiant get one that occurs mostly offscreen.
- Parian and Flechette also get together, when the latter defects to the Undersiders.
Real Life
- Singer Melissa Manchester explained why she got married. One day, her live-in boyfriend gave her an ultimatum: he wanted more out of the relationship or he was going to end it. So they got married.note
- MTV's Friendzone is a show where various men or women seek to get into relationships with their Best Friends with...varying results.