History Main / PairTheSpares

* Depending on which version of the Myth/KingArthur myth you read, Sir Gareth either marries his DamselInDistress Lyonesse or his DamselErrant Lynette (Lyonesse's sister). Either way, his brother Sir Gaheris [[DoubleInLawMarriage marries the other one]].

* Author J.K. Rowling of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fame said in an interview that although she left open the possibility of a relationship between many characters such as [[spoiler: Neville and Luna]], she didn't explicitly state one in the wrap-up because it "felt too neat." That was also the main reason both of them ended up marrying [[spoiler: a background character (Neville and Hannah Abbott) and a character that ''never appeared in any of the books'' (Luna and Rolf Scamander)]].

** Worth noting Mack and Elena could ''also'' be seen as pair sparing, as while Mack was the main person she talked to throughout season 3, their relationship went [[UpToEleven Up To Eleven]] during season 4's beginnings, seemingly out of nowhere.

* At the end of Creator/MelBrooks' stage musical version of ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'', Frau Blucher ends up with the blind hermit, which is {{pun}}ned on.
-->'''Blucher''': If you'll excuse me, I've got a blind date!

* Chapter 84 of ''Manga/{{Horimiya}}'' had a case of pairing the spares of the spares when it starts teasing Yanagi and Sakura. The two of them were originally interested in [[BetaCouple Yuki and Tooru]], who in turn were originally interested in [[OfficialCouple Miyamura and Hori]].

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba,'' this is [[ImpliedTrope implied]] to be the case with [[spoiler: Inosuke and Aoi]], whereas the pairings of [[spoiler:Tanjiro/Kanao and Zenitsu/Nezuko]] are [[OfficialCouple more directly confirmed]]. The epilogue is set in modern day japan featuring what looked like to be the descendants of the main cast and the reincarnations of the dead cast. One of them is [[spoiler: Aoba Hashibira,]] and while he's a splitting image of Inosuke, he does bear [[spoiler: Aoi's name in a similar vein to Kanata Kamado, Tanjiro and Kanao's heavily implied descendant.]] And the previous chapter also had them being [[ShipTease teased]] with Inosuke showing an interest to the girl. [[spoiler:The final volume's extra drawings confirm that he's their descendant.]]

* Conversed and defied in ''Manga/StoryOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength''. In Chapter 38, Tsukishima and Tasaki (the only main characters without love interests) start hanging out discussing manga, and the conversation gets to talking about the tendency of manga writers to pair the spares...to which they both [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall say in unison]] "[[ShipSinking I absolutely hate it when the leftover characters start dating each other!]]" Just to finish off any lingering doubt, the narration them clarifies that both characters would never consider dating each other ''because'' they are too alike.

* Conversed and defied in ''Manga/StoryOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength''. In Chapter 38, Tsukishima and Tasaki (the only main characters without love interests) start hanging out discussing manga, and the conversation gets to talking about the tendency of manga writers to pair the spares...to which they both say in unison "[[ShipSinking I absolutely hate it when the leftover characters start dating each other!]]"

** It works better than most examples of this trope, because Faramir is similar in personality to Aragorn in many ways: while being much closer to Éowyn's age and from a culture that's a bit less foreign than the Elvish-raised Aragorn. Hence, this relationship is more likely to actually last and work. Also because Éowyn's crush on Aragorn was mostly motivated by the fact that he isn't a creep like Wormtongue and takes her more seriously than the other men in her life (excepting her brother). Her own uncle doesn't even consider her for the position of regent while he rides off to Helm's Deep, until her brother's lieutenant Háma speaks up for her. The way it comes off in the book is less that Éowyn is shunted to the side in favor of Arwen, and more that there are ''plenty'' of guys who will treat her the way she deserves so she doesn't need to settle for the [[{{Jerkass}}jerks]] just because Aragorn is taken.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'''s finale [[TheMovie movie]] somewhat randomly had [[ExtravertedNerd Upchuck]] get together with minor character / EnsembleDarkHorse [[{{Goth}} Andrea]]. The "[[WhereAreTheyNow Future Alter Egos]]," though not firmly canon, go even farther [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight by pairing]] [[DepravedBisexual Allison]] with [[TheAlcoholic Lindy]]. Sort of a ThemePairing for morally ambiguous characters who showed up in the respective movies?

* An unusual example: the Grace Harlowe series follows the eponymous heroine and a rotating cast of friends through high school, college, and World War I, after which some of the join up with the young men from the previously separate Pony Rider Boys series in a new series, Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders. On the last page of the final book, everyone is paired up. In two cases the paired characters had evinced absolutely no previous suggestion that the characters had any interest in each other, to the point that when the first of the women announces her engagement, her friends think she is marrying the other man!

* In ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall,'' both [[SociallyAwkwardHero Wirt]] and [[ExtravertedNerd Jason Funderburker]] are interested in [[GirlNextDoor Sara]], who seems to like the former. In the end, Wirt and Sara get a MaybeEverAfter, and [[FullNameBasis Jason Funderburker]] is holding hands with another girl.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' fanfiction with Rei/Shinji shipping will often pair Asuka with Kaworu, characters that never met in the series as [[spoiler: Asuka was in a coma between Kaworu's appearance and death.]]

* In ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' fanfiction, Phichit and Chris are a surprisingly popular couple for [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight two people who don't interact much in the series]], but it makes sense when you consider they're the respective best friends of Yuuri and Victor, the OfficialCouple. Yurio got this with various characters before his ShipTease with Otabek in episode 10.
* Alphonse Elric x Winry Rockbell is a pretty common tag in ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'' fanfiction for a pairing that doesn't seem to have many fans of its own...just because it makes a good version of this when fans want to ship Ed with someone other than Winry, usually Roy Mustang or, especially for fans of the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime]], Rose Thomas.
* Flame and Ember from ''VideoGame/SpyroAHerosTail'' are almost always shipped together, despite the two never showing interest in each other, and Ember's [[StalkerWithACrush crazy obsession]] with Spyro. This is mainly because Spyro gains a canon love interest, Cynder, in ''The Legend of Spyro'' reboot series, even though Flame and Ember don't exist in that continuity. Note that Ember is canonically paired with [[InterspeciesRomance Bandit the Armadillo]] in a future game.

* If an Adrienette fan doesn’t want Luka and Kagami to DieForOurShip, they sometimes pair the musician and the fencer together, having them bond over their failures with Marinette and Adrien respectively.

* The final season of ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' works with this trope to a hilarious extent. First there are the people who really do get married--Mary to her mechanic, Edith to her marquis, Isobel to Lord Merton, Carson and Mrs Hughes to each other--to say nothing of Rose, who married and went to America at the end of the previous season. Then there are all the hinted-at future pairings: Moseley with Baxter, Mrs Patmore the cook with Mr Mason, Daisy the under-cook with the latest footman, Tom with Edith’s new editor. By the end of the series, poor Thomas is the only one left without a soulmate.

* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'' first breaks up the Kara Zor-El x [[ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}} Brainiac 5]] traditional canon romance and then it has Kara fall in love with Kryptonian fellow Dev-Em, and Brainy end up with Laurel Kent.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': After the Kim and Ron hookup in TheMovie, they started pairing spares. [[AlphaBitch Bonnie]] got matched with [[AmbiguouslyGay Señor Senior Junior]] in a late Season 4 episode, and in the Graduation GrandFinale episode they paired Felix (and his cool wheelchair) with Zita Flores (who hadn't been seen for about 70 episodes), Drakken and Shego were implied during that finale and WordOfGod confirmed them as hooking up. A stand-alone episode involving nerdy Cousin Larry also had an implication that he was going to get involved with a friend of his. This basically left only [[SassyBlackWoman Monique]] and [[MissionControl Wade]] as unattached, and probably only because of their age difference.

* Parodied, then played straight with a little justification in ''Film/MeanGirls''. The remainder of the PowerTrio (one a gay guy, the other [[AmbiguouslyGay probably not a lesbian]]) have an AlmostKiss at the final dance, before being [[LikeBrotherAndSister mutually disgusted]] and breaking apart. Then another minor character, who's actually shown an interest in the girl previously, finally gets his chance.

* Parodied on an episode of the sitcom ''Series/{{Working}}'', where after a ban on inter-office relationships is lifted, everyone quickly pairs off in order to release the sexual tension that had been building. The ButtMonkey is too slow, and the only one left is a LittleOldLady.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/LifeWithArchieTheMarriedLife https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/archiespares.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Well, they have ''this'' much in common...]]