History ChildhoodFriendRomance / Literature

* Jin and Misaki in ''LightNovel/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'', but with a twist -- while Jin remained loyal to Misaki, he felt unworthy of her, so he became ''TheCasanova''. [[spoiler:In spite of this, as of the fifth light novel volume, after they graduate, both become a couple.]]

* Manami from ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}'' has an obvious crush on her childhood friend Kyosuke, but he doesn't have any strong feelings for her other than close friendship.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Corsair}}'', when Aura was young she found Canale lying on the streets and [[ImTakingHimHomeWithMe took him in]]. She's more or less had been planning to marry him ever since, but since this is a BoysLove series, she ended up on the wrong side of the triangle. She's upset about it, but doesn't push the issue when she finds out.

* ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'': Ichika's harem includes a few childhood friends.

%%* Brandon and Madeline in ''Border Songs''.

* Sylvie, the heroine of ''Kiss'' by Jacqueline Wilson, believes she is in love with her friend Carl and has always imagined they would get married one day -- only for him to come out as gay. [[spoiler:It's left somewhat ambiguous at the end of the book when Carl kisses her and tells her he will always love her; but she appears to take this in the platonic sense.]]

%%* Max and Fang from ''Literature/MaximumRide'' .

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'': Irina was Issei's ChildhoodFriend (although he [[USedToBeATomboy thought she was a boy at the time]]) and was even his FirstKiss, but is now a member of his harem.

* Due to an accidental HostileShowTakeover, Katarina from ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' ends up becoming close friends with most of the cast during her childhood, and all six of them are in love with her (yes, that includes [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer the two girls]], and [[NotBloodSiblings her adoptive brother]]). [[CluelessChickMagnet She remains completely oblivious to all of this]] despite none of them making any effort to hide it. And some of them trying rather hard to make it obvious.

* Safu from ''LightNovel/No6'' is in love with her childhood friend Shion. She [[DoYouWantToCopulate very straightforwardly]] confesses her love, he says he thinks of her as a friend but tells her to ask him again in two years, she promises to wait for him... then he runs off with Nezumi, and the series is drowned in HoYay.

** Averted with Rilla and Carl. They were great childhood friends because they were close to the same age, but they mutually agreed to never get together.

* Deconstructed in ''LightNovel/{{Haganai}}''. [[spoiler: Perhaps due to her clear social cluelessness, throughout most of the series Yozora simply assumes that being Kodaka's childhood friend means that [[BecauseDestinySaysSo him loving her is inevitable regardless of anything else that happens.]] When she realizes that, in real life, this isn't an instant romance button, [[HeroicBSOD she has a very bad freak out.]] All the more so because the entire time, she's only been able to [[GreenEyedMonster control her envy]] of [[TheOjou Sena's]] various merits by constantly telling herself that none of it matters, because she is the childhood friend and thus no amount of [[TheAce beauty, talent, wealth or even genuine love on Sena's part]] would win her Kodaka. When she discovers that he's actually known and was friends with Sena ''[[FirstGirlAfterAll since long before he ever knew her]]'', she falls into utter despair once again.]]

* ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'': Jacuzzi Splot and Nice Holystone. Their backstory in the later episodes is quite touching: [[spoiler:After Nice permanently scarred her face and lost an eye as the result of playing with explosives when she was little, Jacuzzi got a large jagged sword tattoo on his face so she wouldn't be the only one with a distinctive face.]] They've been together ever since (although Nice still hasn't given up her love of explosives yet).

** Fanny Price and Edmund Bertram of ''Literature/MansfieldPark'' (even though Mrs. Norris tries to invoke the Westermarck Effect), who are also [[KissingCousins cousins]] but in a time and setting where that was commonplace.

* Zhou/Wicked from ''Literature/HalfPrince'' spent 8 years in love with Lan/Prince, but he lived far away and she never recognized him when he played online with her. When she starts on a new game at the beginning of the story she develops thanks to a bet made with her brother, and ends up a much more self-sufficient person than he's used to. Her new personality makes his attempts to coddle and look after her like he always has only offend her, and she ends up choosing his love rival Gui.

** Miss Lavendar and Stephen Irving from ''Anne of Avonlea'': [[spoiler:they met when Lavendar was six and Stephen was nine, and soon after made a ChildhoodMarriagePromise. They were formally engaged when Lavendar was twenty... and then had a fight and broke up. Stephen then moves to America, marries, and fathers a son, Paul. Paul's mother dies, and Paul moves back to Avonlea to live with his grandmother, befriends Lavendar (who remained single for twenty-five years, having regretted their break-up and not wanting to marry anyone who wasn't Stephen), and writes to his father about it. Stephen returns to Avonlea and reconciles with Lavendar, and the two are married... twenty-five years after they were engaged and ''almost forty years'' after they had met.]]

--->They used to talk together of almost everything and were teased about each other at school; but one evening when they were about ten years of age they had solemnly promised, by the old spring in Rainbow Valley, that they would never marry each other. Alice Clow had "crossed out" their names on her slate in school that day, and it came out that "both married." They did not like the idea at all, hence the mutual vow in Rainbow Valley. There was nothing like an ounce of prevention.

* ''Dawn'' by Creator/VCAndrews: Dawn and Jimmy were raised as brother and sister, but after the truth is revealed, Jimmy admits that he used to wish Dawn wasn't his sister because she's the only girl he's ever wanted. [[spoiler: She eventually gets over this revelation and they get married.]]
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Referenced but ultimately averted with Tiffany and Roland. In ''Literature/TheWeeFreeMen'', aged nine, she just thinks he's an idiot. In ''Literature/AHatFullOfSky'', she acknowledges that he's ''less'' of one, but is still offended by Miss Level's blatant LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone. In ''Literature/{{Wintersmith}}'', she's surprised to find she's jealous of him spending time with other girls, but by ''Literature/IShallWearMidnight'', she's decided she cares about him, but not that way, and they both get new love interests.
* In the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novels, Laurana and Tanis are childhood sweethearts, complete with a ChildhoodMarriagePromise. Tanis then leaves Laurana after being confronted by her family who do not believe a bastard [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human]] like him is good enough for an elven princess. Many years later Tanis is reunited with Laurana who is still very much in love with him and has [[SheIsAllGrownUp become an incredibly beautiful woman]]. Tanis soon realizes he still has feelings for her as well, but the situation is complicated because he is now also in love with another woman, DarkActionGirl Kitiara Uth Matar, setting up a three-book-long BettyAndVeronica triangle. [[spoiler: It is only after Tanis sees Laurana's beauty and courage while she is a prisoner of Kitiara that he realizes she is the one he truly loves. Tanis then saves Laurana from a FateWorseThanDeath and the two are married.]]

** [[spoiler:Severus Snape]] was in love with his childhood friend [[spoiler: Lily Evans]], as revealed in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' (and hinted at since ''Order of the Phoenix''). In fact, [[spoiler:his unrequited love for Lily, and guilt over her death, was a major factor in Voldemort's downfall -- not bad for the maladjusted kid who fucked up so badly with the girl he liked that he got thrown over for an ex-JerkJock.]] [[spoiler:Snape]]'s case also provides an interesting look at the implications of this trope in regards to the "one-sided --> care for child or sibling" idea. [[spoiler:Namely, Snape cared for Harry because he was Lily's son, but was also cold and cruel to Harry because he was James's son. Funny how things change when IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy ''isn't'' in play.]]

* ''Literature/HettyFeather'': Jem, Hetty's foster brother, never forgets the [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise promise of marriage]] they had before Hetty returned to the Foundling Hospital age 6, and instead spends around 9 years pining for her and falling madly in love, which unfortunately is unrequited and refused by Hetty who rejects his offer to run away with him before he's married to Janet. Tragic, really.

* An Unlucky Childhood Friend in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. [[spoiler: Gale loses to Peeta.]]

* Deconstructed in ''Literature/ThePact''. Chris and Emily, who have known each other since they were infants, are pretty much ''expected'' to get married by their respective families. Emily, though, simply doesn't see Chris as anything but her best friend, and in fact finds making out with him almost incestuous. She stays with Chris partly because she wants to live up to everyone else's expectations of her and partly because she loves Chris enough that she doesn't want to break his heart by leaving him. [[spoiler: When she gets pregnant with Chris's child, she can no longer avoid her own feelings on the matter and ends up manipulating Chris into the titular suicide pact.]]
* In the story "Palace Hotel" in ''Literature/HaloEvolutions'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:John-117]], when he was a child, had a female friend with whom he made a "silly ChildhoodMarriagePromise". A month later, [[spoiler:John]] was drafted for the SPARTAN-II project. During the beginning of [[spoiler:the Battle of New Mombasa]], [[spoiler:John]] found her again, still holding a photo of him, and realized that she had missed him... but knowing well that she could die in the next fifteen minutes in the coming skirmish, and that revealing his identity to her would compromise the secret of the origins of the SPARTAN-II soldiers, he chose to stay silent, leaving the poor woman to think he had died when he had been a kid, when the Spartan in front of her was him.
* ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'': Raoul de Chagne and Christine Daae, they met when as children Christine's scarf was blown into the ocean and Raoul dived in to retrieve it for her leading to their FirstKiss and close friendship. Years later Raoul tries to remind Christine of their bond but she seemly just laughs at him, in truth this was to protect him as the [[CrazyJealousGuy Phantom]] was close by. It can be also said despite both being twenty years old Raoul and Christine still act like children and are even described as such in their love scenes, which is why they're also impulsive and emotional with their love [[LoveMakesYouDumb blinding them]] to the present danger. In the epilogue Christine and Raoul get married off-page and elope to Sweden taking Christine’s beloved stepmother Mamma Valérius with them.

* ''Literature/ShineShineShine'': Maxon and Sunny first met when he was seven and she was about six, when Maxon tried to hide out from his abusive father in an abandoned farm, only to find that Sunny and her mother had moved in. They were best friends throughout their childhood, realized their attraction to each other in their teens, and eventually married.

** Littlefinger and Lysa Arryn. [[spoiler: Whom he marries -- and then ''kills'']]. She was batshit insane and fond of throwing people off tall mountains, so it's not like she didn't have it coming... though most of his other actions have less legitimate excuses.

* ''Literature/TheSorrowsOfYoungWerther'': Although the length of their relationship is not specified, Lotte and Albert have been close friends long enough that he was in the room with her when her mother died. They remain an established couple throughout the novel, much to the despair of her admirer , Werther, who [[spoiler: blows his brains out]].
* Gabe from ''Literature/SocialQueue'' is the twin brother of Zoe's best friend Ari. They've known each other since primary school, and Gabe admits he used to have a crush on her when they were about twelve. Zoe starts dating Jake Jones, but eventually she realizes that although he's nice, she doesn't really have feelings for him. She does have feelings for Gabe, who it turns out never got over his crush, and the two start dating.

* In ''Literature/TheStoryOfValentineAndHisBrother'', Valentine Ross and Violet Pringle have been friends since he was eight and she was six. In their early twenties, they realize they're in love.
* Tre and Nora become this in ''Literature/{{Stuck}}'' after reuniting for the first time in 5 years. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Then they broke up.]] [[DoubleSubversion And]] ''[[DoubleSubversion then]]'' [[DoubleSubversion they stick together permanently.]] ]]

* In ''Literature/WingsOfFire'', there are several examples, but perhaps the most obvious is Sundew and Willow. The two of them met when they were two years old (around eight to ten in human terms) and have been together ever since.

* ''Literature/WutheringHeights'': Heathcliff and Catherine have a passionate, enduring love, were raised as brother and sister, and may be half-siblings (though this last element remains ambiguous), and IncestIsRelative.

* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/SmithOfWoottonMajor'', Smith gave Nell a silver coin from the cake even when they were children, at the Feast of Good Children.

* Zigzagged in Miranda July's ''Something That Needs Nothing.'' The main character is in love with her best friend, Pip, and has been in love since they were children. The two have had very sporadic sexual encounters, but the main character is resigned to the fact that Pip will never love her romantically. Once she starts working as a peep show artist, and devises a new persona for herself, that's when she gets Pip to fall for her.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Referenced but ultimately averted with Tiffany and Roland. In ''Literature/TheWeeFreeMen'', aged nine, she just thinks he's an idiot. In ''Literature/AHatFullOfSky'', she acknowledges that he's ''less'' of one, but is still offended by Miss Level's blatant LeaveTheLovebirdsAlone. In ''Literature/{{Wintersmith}}'', she's surprised to find she's jealous of him spending time with other girls, but by ''Literature/IShallWearMidnight'', she's decided she doesn't love him that way, and they both get new love interests.

** Harry eventually marries [[spoiler:Ginny Weasley]] whom he became friends with in his second year of Hogwarts.

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* Art and Celestine of ''Literature/{{Flawed}}'' were close friends all throughout their childhood, and started dating in highschool.

** Due to AppliedPhlebotinum, the "care for child or sibling" aspect is played {{squick}}ily straight as it turns out that Jacob's tribe is destined to "imprint" on their fated mates upon meeting them, even if they have to undergo a ridiculously long stretch of WifeHusbandry before they can marry them, and it turns out that Bella and Edward's daughter was Jacob's all along--but don't worry, because she's half-vampire, she ages ridiculously quickly until reaching adulthood (biologically 17-ish when chronologically ''7''), at which point she stops aging like a normal vampire. And Jacob "imprinted" on her ''while she was still an unborn fetus'', though he didn't realize it until she was born and mistook it for his feelings for Bella (which may or may not have actually been ''caused'' by the fact that she was fated to be his mother-in-law.)

* ''Literature/WutheringHeights'': Heathcliff and Catherine have a passionate, enduring love, were raised as brother and sister, and may be half-siblings (though this last element remains ambiguous), and IncestIsRelative.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter''

** [[spoiler:Ron and Hermione Granger]], HighSchoolSweetHearts, marry afterwards.

** At the same time, this trope is fairly common in the universe of ''Harry Potter'', as not only do wizarding children go to the same school as others in their region/country from age 11 on, but also share a "house" for seven years. It's a dorm room atmosphere with the same faces from adolescence through puberty to of-age young adults.

* ''Literature/{{Brennus}}'': According to flashbacks, before Lady Light and The Dark became the leaders of the superhero and supervillain communities, they were this, having been born in the same room on the same night (through sheer coincidence mind you), and spending their childhoods doing everything from catching serial killers to fighting in World War I together, to the point where it's acknowledged that getting married would be simply a formality. Doesn't stop him from being unbelievably nervous about asking. Of course then [[MassSuperEmpoweringEvent Point Zero]] happened and they got their powers. Their relationship since then has been...[[DatingCatwoman complicated]], [[{{Archenemy}} to say]] [[HappilyMarried the least]].
%%* Sammy Valdez of ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus''.
* ''Literature/WutheringHeights'': Heathcliff and Catherine have a passionate, enduring love, were raised as brother and sister, and may be half-siblings (though this last element remains ambiguous), and IncestIsRelative.
* ''Literature/LittleWomen'':
** Young Amy ultimately marries Theodore "Laurie" Laurence who she's known since childhood. When she was afraid she would die without being kissed, he promised to kiss her before she died. She surely considered herself victorious when he started expressing interest in her.
** Laurie himself experiences the non-mutual form of this trope with Amy's older sister Jo. He loved Jo since they met as teenagers, but she only ever saw him as a brother/friend. When he finally has to say it straight out for her to accept it (with Jo ignoring all his advances and moving away to avoid the inevitable), she immediately shoots him down and he freaks. He gets better later, enough for him to fall for the now grown-up Amy.
** Nat Blake and Daisy Brooke (Laurie's niece), who had been good friends since ''Little Women'''s sequel ''Little Men'', got married in the final sequel ''Jo's Boys''.
** In the last sequel, ''Jo's Boys'', Tommy misses out on Annie aka Nan since she just wants to be a single doctor, taking care of people. He's not too broken up, though; he marries Dora, a girl he at first only got with to make Nan jealous when she's his perfect match and Nan couldn't care less. In fact, Nan was all "... the ''Hell''?" when Tommy reminded her of their ChildhoodMarriagePromise...
* ''Literature/{{Chrestomanci}}'' series by Creator/DianaWynneJones. Christopher and Millie first appear in ''Charmed Life'' as a married couple. Two prequels, ''The Lives of Christopher Chant'' and ''Conrad's Fate'', show them meeting and becoming friends as children and then part of the awkward transition when their relationship starts developing in a romantic direction.
* There are several examples in the ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'' series. Perhaps the most extreme is with Miss Lavendar and Stephen Irving from ''Anne of Avonlea'': [[spoiler:they met when Lavendar was six and Stephen was nine, and soon after made a ChildhoodMarriagePromise. They were formally engaged when Lavendar was twenty... and then had a fight and broke up. Stephen then moves to America, marries, and fathers a son, Paul. Paul's mother dies, and Paul moves back to Avonlea to live with his grandmother, befriends Lavendar (who remained single for twenty-five years, having regretted their break-up and not wanting to marry anyone who wasn't Stephen), and writes to his father about it. Stephen returns to Avonlea and reconciles with Lavendar, and the two are married... twenty-five years after they were engaged and ''almost forty years'' after they had met.]]

-->They used to talk together of almost everything and were teased about each other at school; but one evening when they were about ten years of age they had solemnly promised, by the old spring in Rainbow Valley, that they would never marry each other. Alice Clow had "crossed out" their names on her slate in school that day, and it came out that "both married." They did not like the idea at all, hence the mutual vow in Rainbow Valley. There was nothing like an ounce of prevention.
* In ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'', Victor and Elizabeth were raised together because of her father's tragic fate and his mother decided to invoke this trope. [[spoiler:Tragically, their marriage was short-lived.]]
* Art and Celestine of ''Literature/{{Flawed}}'' were close friends all throughout their childhood, and started dating in highschool.
%%* Mia and Michael in ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries''.
* Shasta and Aravis at the end of ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy''.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'': Taran and Eilonwy. When Taran finally asks her to marry him after years of silent pining, Eilonwy replies, "Of course I will, and if you'd ever given any thought to the question you'd have already known the answer."
* ''Dawn'' by Creator/VCAndrews : Dawn and Jimmy were raised as brother and sister, but after the truth is revealed, Jimmy admits that he used to wish Dawn wasn't his sister because she's the only girl he's ever wanted. [[spoiler: She eventually gets over this revelation and they get married.]]
%%* Max and Fang from ''Literature/MaximumRide'' .
%%* [[spoiler:Seylin and Emily]] in the ''Literature/HollowKingdomTrilogy''.
* In the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novels, Laurana and Tanis are childhood sweethearts, complete with a ChildhoodMarriagePromise. Tanis then leaves Laurana after being confronted by her family who do not believe a bastard [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human]] like him is good enough for an elven princess. Many years later Tanis is reunited with Laurana who is still very much in love with him and has [[SheIsAllGrownUp become an incredibly beautiful woman]]. Tanis soon realizes he still has feelings for her as well, but the situation is complicated because he is now also in love with another woman, DarkActionGirl Kitiara Uth Matar, setting up a three-book-long BettyAndVeronica triangle. [[spoiler: It is only after Tanis sees Laurana's beauty and courage while she is a prisoner of Kitiara that he realizes she is the one he truly loves. Tanis then saves Laurana from a FateWorseThanDeath and the two are married.]]
* Creator/JaneAusten was fond of this trope:

%%* Fred and Mary in ''Literature/{{Middlemarch}}''
* Agnes and David in Charles Dickens' ''Literature/DavidCopperfield''. They met when Agnes's dad took David in as he went to school, and in their LoveDeclaration she specifically says she's loved him all her life.
%%** Probably Pip with Estelle in ''Literature/GreatExpectations''.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotter''
** Harry eventually marries [[spoiler:Ginny Weasley]] whom he became friends with in his second year of Hogwarts.
** [[spoiler:Ron and Hermione Granger]], HighSchoolSweetHearts, marry afterwards.
** [[spoiler:Severus Snape]] was in love with his childhood friend [[spoiler: Lily Evans]], as revealed in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' (and hinted at since ''Order of the Phoenix''). In fact, [[spoiler:his unrequited love for Lily, and guilt over her death, was a major factor in Voldemort's downfall -- not bad for the maladjusted kid who fucked up so badly with the girl he liked that he got thrown over for an ex-JerkJock.]] [[spoiler:Snape]]'s case also provides an interesting look at the implications of this trope in regards to the "one-sided --> care for child or sibling" idea. [[spoiler:Namely, Snape cared for Harry because he was Lily's son, but was also cold and cruel to Harry because he was James's son. Funny how things change when IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy ''isn't'' in play.]]
** At the same time, this trope is fairly common in the universe of ''Harry Potter'', as not only do wizarding children go to the same school as others in their region/country from age 11 on, but also share a "house" for seven years. It's a dorm room atmosphere with the same faces from adolescence through puberty to of-age young adults.
* ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'': Raoul de Chagne and Christine Daae, they met when as children Christine's scarf was blown into the ocean and Raoul dived in to retrieve it for her leading to their FirstKiss and close friendship. Years later Raoul tries to remind Christine of their bond but she seemly just laughs at him, in truth this was to protect him as the [[CrazyJealousGuy Phantom]] was close by. It can be also said despite both being twenty years old Raoul and Christine still act like children and are even described as such in their love scenes, which is why they're also impulsive and emotional with their love [[LoveMakesYouDumb blinding them]] to the present danger. In the epilogue Christine and Raoul get married off-page and elope to Sweden taking Christine’s beloved stepmother Mamma Valérius with them.
* Nancy Werlin's ''Impossible''. Lucy and Zach are kind of complicated by a prophecy that Lucy, like her mother, will go insane when she gives birth to a child if she doesn't complete [[RuleOfThree three]] [[ImpossibleTask impossible tasks]], but they work it out in the end.
* ''Literature/TheSorrowsOfYoungWerther'': Although the length of their relationship is not specified, Lotte and Albert have been close friends long enough that he was in the room with her when her mother died. They remain an established couple throughout the novel, much to the despair of her admirer , Werther, who [[spoiler: blows his brains out]].
%%* The ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' series has Anakin Solo and Tahiri Veila.

* Tre and Nora become this in ''Literature/{{Stuck}}'' after reuniting for the first time in 5 years. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Then they broke up.]] [[DoubleSubversion And]] ''[[DoubleSubversion then]]'' [[DoubleSubversion they stick together permanently.]] ]]
* [[spoiler:Will and Alyss]] in ''Literature/RangersApprentice''. It was obvious there were some feelings between them [[spoiler:even as early as the start of the first book.]]
* In Creator/PGWodehouse's ''Jill the Reckless'', Wally. He confesses that his bad behavior stemmed from a crush in childhood.
* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Jacob Black spent some time with Bella when they were kids and tried to re-connect with her when she moves to Forks, but loses out to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Edward]].
** Due to AppliedPhlebotinum, the "care for child or sibling" aspect is played {{squick}}ily straight as it turns out that Jacob's tribe is destined to "imprint" on their fated mates upon meeting them, even if they have to undergo a ridiculously long stretch of WifeHusbandry before they can marry them, and it turns out that Bella and Edward's daughter was Jacob's all along--but don't worry, because she's half-vampire, she ages ridiculously quickly until reaching adulthood (biologically 17-ish when chronologically ''7''), at which point she stops aging like a normal vampire. And Jacob "imprinted" on her ''while she was still an unborn fetus'', though he didn't realize it until she was born and mistook it for his feelings for Bella (which may or may not have actually been ''caused'' by the fact that she was fated to be his mother-in-law.)
* ''Literature/WarAndPeace'': Sonya, who was given the ChildhoodMarriagePromise by Nikolai Rostov.
* ''Speaker for the Dead'': Miro and Ouanda with a twist: [[spoiler:After he and Ouanda turn out to be [[BrotherSisterIncest half-siblings]], he gets sent out to space, and because of relativity, everyone else ages a few decades. So while Ouanda has aged 30 years, long since forgotten Miro, and married someone else, Miro still misses her and feels abandoned. Doesn't help that he's handicapped either.]]
* [[MagnificentBastard Littlefinger]] from a ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' fell in love with the High-born daughter of his foster family and [[BreakTheCutie he suffers for it]]. [[{{Yandere}} He doesn't seem to have taken it very well]], and gets even by [[spoiler:[[DisproportionateRetribution starting an awe-inspiringly violent civil war that begins with the death of the man his love married]].]]
** Littlefinger and Lysa Arryn. [[spoiler: Whom he marries -- and then ''kills'']]. She was batshit insane and fond of throwing people off tall mountains, so it's not like she didn't have it coming... though most of his other actions have less legitimate excuses.
* Rand and Egwene in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series are more of a subversion. The decision to break up is mutual, they remain friends, and they both get happily involved with other people later in the series.
* Cinderpelt and Firestar ''Literature/WarriorCats'' (verified by WordOfGod). She was originally Firestar's apprentice, meaning it started out as a case of [[TeacherStudentRomance Hot For Teacher]], but by the end of the first series, she was one of his closest friends. Firestar however is mates with another she-cat.

* Raoul to Louise in ''Literature/TheVicomteDeBragelonne''. Then she falls in love with Louis XIV...

%%* Stephen towards Cassandra in ''Literature/ICaptureTheCastle''.
* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/SmithOfWoottonMajor'', Smith gave Nell a silver coin from the cake even when they were children, at the Feast of Good Children.
* ''Literature/TheSagaOfHrolfKraki'': Bjorn and Bera, parents of Elk-Frodi, Thorir Dogfoot, and Bodvar Bjarki:
-->''"Bjorn, the king’s son, and Bera, the FarmersDaughter, played together as children and they got on well. (...) Bera and Bjorn loved each other a lot and were always meeting."''
* In Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/FrontierMagic'' trilogy, William and Eff at the very end of the third book.

* Orrec and Gry in ''Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore''. Their families are allies, and they always considered themselves obligated to each other even if their parents were discussing marriage prospects. In the second and third book, they're HappilyMarried.
* An Unlucky Childhood Friend in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. [[spoiler: Gale loses to Peeta.]]
* Cryl Durav from the ''Literature/KharkanasTrilogy'' is of the unlucky sort. He and Enesdia grew up together, and Cryl is very much aware of his feelings towards her. Enesdia, on the other hand, thinks of him as just a second brother, although what her behaviour says is at odds with this. It ends tragically [[spoiler:with both of them dead at Enesdia's wedding]].
* Happens in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', of all places. In the story ''Palace Hotel'' in ''Literature/HaloEvolutions'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:John-117]], when he was a child, had a female friend with whom he made a "silly ChildhoodMarriagePromise". A month later, [[spoiler:John]] was drafted for the SPARTAN-II project. During the beginning of [[spoiler:the Battle of New Mombasa]], [[spoiler:John]] found her again, still holding a photo of him, and realized that she had missed him... but knowing well that she could die in the next fifteen minutes in the coming skirmish, and that revealing his identity to her would compromise the secret of the origins of the SPARTAN-II soldiers, he chose to stay silent, leaving the poor woman to think he had died when he had been a kid, when the Spartan in front of her was him.
* In ''[[Literature/AddictedSeries Addicted]]'', Loren Hale and Lily Calloway were best friends since childhood and began a fake relationship as teenagers. In college, they began dating for real and ended up married a few years later.
* Lusa from ''Literature/SeekerBears'' befriends a male black bear named Miki in ''Great Bear Lake''. He appears again later and as adults they become mates.

* ''Literature/TheDarkDescentOfElizabethFrankenstein'' is a dark deconstruction. Elizabeth perfects herself to become Victor’s ideal person, and Victor’s love for her is more akin to obsession. It's also what Henry hoped for with Elizabeth, but [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend he didn't succeed.]]
* ''Literature/HettyFeather'': Jem, Hetty's foster brother, never forgets the [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise promise of marriage]] they had before Hetty returned to the Foundling Hospital age 6, and instead spends around 9 years pining for her and falling madly in love, which unfortunately is unrequited and refused by Hetty who rejects his offer to run away with him before he's married to Janet. Tragic, really.
* In ''Literature/BeautifulLosers'', F. and the narrator grew up together and have a sexual and deep emotional relationship that lasts for their entire lives.

* ''Literature/TheColdMoons'': Beaufort has been in love with his wife Corntop since he was a yearling cub.
* In ''Literature/ABoyMadeOfBlocks'', Dan has been in love with Alex's sister Emma for decades, and they eventually get together.
* In ''Literature/TheStoryOfValentineAndHisBrother'', Valentine Ross and Violet Pringle have been friends since he was eight and she was six. In their early twenties, they realize they're in love.
* Deconstructed in ''Literature/ThePact''. Chris and Emily, who have known each other since they were infants, are pretty much ''expected'' to get married by their respective families. Emily, though, simply doesn't see Chris as anything but her best friend, and in fact finds making out with him almost incestuous. She stays with Chris partly because she wants to live up to everyone else's expectations of her and partly because she loves Chris enough that she doesn't want to break his heart by leaving him. [[spoiler: When she gets pregnant with Chris's child, she can no longer avoid her own feelings on the matter and ends up manipulating Chris into the titular suicide pact.]]
* ''Literature/TheAnderssons'':
** Elin and Gusten meet as pre-teens, end up dating each other as teenagers, breaking up, but re-uniting decades later and becoming engaged (but not married for some reason).
** Rebecka and Samuel has a similar but less complicated story: they meet as pre-teens, and end up getting married and having two children. What makes it a bit peculiar though is that Rebecka is Elin's daughter, and Samuel is Gusten's son. So technically, they were almost made step-siblings years after they got married and after their children were born!
* Deconstructed in ''Literature/KeepingYouASecret'', where Holland got together with and started a sexual relationship with her childhood best friend Seth becuase "that was what boys and girls our age did" only for her later realize two things: Them getting together had ruined their friendship and that she was gay, her having fallen in love with a girl named Cece and her noting that what she felt for Seth had nothing in common with what she felt for her. She tried to explain this to him when she broke up with him, but [[{{Gayngst}} her inability to properly explain herself]] made it sound like a trite "ItsNotYouItsMe"-speech, and he left starting to resent her.