Childhood Friend Romances in Fan Works.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Fractures (ATLA):
- Mai and Zuko's childhood romance is detailed and spotlighted to the readers when Zuko frees Mai from the Boiling Rock and reunites with her for the first time in years.
- When we finally get to the Gaang, Aang and Katara's blossoming romance is presented to us through Sokka's point of view. He approves of them getting together, and is a little frustrated that his little sister is a tad slow to completely admit to her feelings for the Avatar.
- Child of the Storm has Loki and Sif, who seem to be blind to how into each other they are (particularly the guilt-riddden Loki), while Everyone Can See It and pretty much everyone (particularly Fanral for some reason) is a Shipper on Deck). It gets to the point where part of Harry's plot critical letter from the future is an irritable exhortation to his uncle to open his damn eyes. In Chapter 77, they finally get together, with a bit of help from the Warriors Three.
- Harry and Carol spend most of their time dancing around this, insisting that they're Just Friends... in the middle of flirting each other's metaphorical pants off. Even supervillains have started noticing it. They finally hook up in chapter 46 of the sequel.
- Oni Ga Shiku Series:
- Hisashi and Inko first met as children when Majima took them in after they were left with no other guardians, and instantly got along. They kept living together through high school when they started dating, and now are happily married even through a long distance relationship.
- Akatani and Midnight were friends in middle school who fell out of touch for several years, but got together after he cleaned up his act and went to prison to atone for his past. He proposes to her in an omake, though it's unclear if it's canon to the fic.
- Dragon Ball Reboot: The fan manga's prequel spin-off shows that Goku's mother Gine was originally childhood friends with her future husband Bardock after he saved her from a Gang of Bullies when they were small Saiyan kids.
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed
- In Chicken, Fox and Flowers, Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue were this, according to a reference Xichen makes during his declaration of love to Mingjue. It's implied in one line that they started dating either in high school or college.
- In Gold Poisons, Lan Xichen has been in love with Nie Mingjue so long that he doesn't actually know when he started having feelings for him. By the end of the fic they're together.
- Second Bite of the Cherry has Wei Ying and Lan Lan. Lan Zhan immediately decides Wei Ying is his when they first meet as preteens. They spend the following decade growing together in the Cloud Recesses, and officially tie the knot when they're shy of eighteen years old.
- Passing Days presents a subversion, because the Official Couple with Vy and Robin Hood all started because of Vy enjoying the Archer's stories as a child. Even though Robin Hood the Heroic Spirit never met Vy as a childhood friend, those lingering feelings did reach him because he started calling her "little sparrow" after finding out that fact.
- Seventh Endmost Vision: Tifa clearly hopes for this with Cloud. Aerith ships it. Which is interesting because, while they may have met while they were a bit older, Aerith also hopes for this.
- Baby Boom (Shawna Canon): After the marriages of Adrienette and Alyino from Miraculous Ladybug, their respective children become this. In fact, Louis, Marinette and Adrien’s son, and Keva, Alya and Nino’s daughter, were born mere weeks apart. Louis fell for Keva when she defended a friend from bullying.
- Basically any fic pairing Midoriya and Bakugo is this combined with a fair bit of…complications given their canon history.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- It's common to portray canon married couple Shining Armor and Princess Cadence as having known each other since they were both foals, due to their connections to Twilight Sparkle. It's also very common for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who are childhood friends, such as in How We Met.
- Many writers also like to portray Princess Celestia and Discord as having a past together before Discord attempted to take over Equestria. Following his reform, the writers like to think they're giving their relationship another try.
- Following the season five finale and season six premiere, fans have started writing stories involving reformed villain Starlight Glimmer falling in love with her childhood friend Sunburst.
- In Eric Sparkle and the Locket of Prophecies
, Storm Blade has been in love with Twilight Sparkle since they met in magic school when they were foals. - In The Flash Sentry Chronicles, Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle have been best friends ever since childhood, with Twilight's family taking him in after he helps her and they learn he has no family himself. Their friendship slowly evolves into something more, even if it takes them both a long time to realize it.
- The Power of the Equinox has a tragic example with Scootaloo's adoptive parents Brutus Meadows and Vibrant Glow. They first met when Brutus became Vibrant's seatmate at school, with their hooves accidentally touching each other's. They became married in adulthood, but they were unable to have a foal together, leading them to adopt Scootaloo. Then Vibrant became a gambling addict, eating up most of the family's money as the result. This in turn caused Brutus to became a bitter drunk and abusive towards Scootaloo, greatly straining his relationship with his wife. Brutus ends up snapping and killing Vibrant, regretting it only when he himself is dying and seeing his memories of the happier times, including first meeting Vibrant.
- In Nightmares Are Tragic, Moondreamer Finemare and Dusk Skyshine met as foals at school, and eventually fell so deeply in love that Moondreamer's current Aspect still loves him even after having been separated from him for over four thousand years.
- Naru-Hina Chronicles: Besides having a few examples in common with the canon manga (such as Naruto/Hinata, Sasuke/Sakura, and Shikamaru/Temari), it has several more examples of its own:
- Ino and Choji have been friends since they were kids. Then, during a vacation arc, one thing led to another and they're now a couple (although it took quite a while for Ino to openly refer to Choji as her boyfriend).
- Neji and Tenten also became friends during their childhood. Many years later, they became a couple after he defended her against her ex-boyfriend Yori and they're now married.
- Son of the Sannin:
- Naruto and Hinata met under more or less identical circumstances to canon, though Shizune's intervention means that they become close friends in their early childhood instead of Hinata simply pining for him from afar for over a decade. The two of them would eventually start dating after being promoted to Chunin in chapter 31
- Kiba and Tamaki first met at age 8 when Tamaki transferred to the academy, and while they were more rivals than friends, the sexual tension between them is very obvious to the rest of the Konoha 15. Unlike Naruto and Hinata, they don't get together until the very end of the story during a brief lull in the final battle.
- Sayaka and Kyoko in Advice and Trust have been best friends their entire lives and were engaged in a Secret Relationship at the time the series began (which later develops in to a polyamorous relationship with Kensuke). Sayaka actually mentions at one point that they've been in love with each other since before they were old enough to talk.
- The Child of Love: In the sequel Takuma Satori, a boy who met and befriended the first Rei for a short while when they were little kids, shows up. Takuma had a crush on Rei, but whether he was unlucky or victorious is not known due to the sequel being unfinished.
- Ghosts of Evangelion: Kyoko reveals that Shinji and Asuka met for first time when they were little kids. Subverted because neither of them remembered it:Kyoko: We went to college together, as I understand it. She and I spent a bit of time together after you and Asuka were born, before Asuka and I left for Germany.
Asuka: [laughing] So we'd met before? Me and the idiot, I mean.
Kyoko: I actually remember that, too. I remember staring down at you, thinking you were the cutest thing ever, while Yui did the same with Shinji.
Asuka: How about that, eh? The red string of fate bound us together even then. Kind of depressing, now that I think about it.
Shinji: [laughter] - Once More with Feeling: A NERV officer reveals Shinji that he and Asuka had met for first time when they were toddlers... and they already fought back then. Shinji finds it both amusingly ironic and disturbing. Asuka finds it hilarious.
- A onesided variant appears in Married to the Koopa King. Bowser has fond memories of being Peach's childhood friend, but Peach quickly outgrew their friendship. The fic routinely teases that Peach could requite Bowser's Villainous Crush in the future.
- 25m Distance Between Us presents Pauline and Mario as being childhood friends turned high school sweethearts. They had a good relationship (a few arguments aside) until Mario became a plumber and mysteriously disappeared one day.
Unsorted
- Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità has this with Germany and Italy with Germany being Holy Rome and Holy Rome being Italy's first love. Let's just say Japan didn't react too well upon learning this.
- The Demonic Seto Kaichou Is My Valentine: This is a part of The Reveal: Miku and Len had knew each other since they're children, but Len lost his memories of Miku after his head hit a rock when they fell from a cliff.
- Used in A Pleasant Surprise, when it is revealed at the end that Fluttershy and Midnight have known each other since childhood.
- Bridge to Terabithia 2: The Last Time takes place 5 years where the original story left off, where Jess Aarons, now a popular teenager, suddenly finds out that his childhood friend, Leslie Burke, turns out to still be alive, allowing their relationship to continue where it was cut off when they're children. But there is also the inclusion of a new character, Dylan Hils, who became friends with Jess' then 12-year-old sister Maybelle which quickly turns into something more than Just Friends as the story progresses. The Distant Epilogue concluding their stories have Dylan and Maybelle, as adults, getting married, with the guests attending their wedding ceremony including Jess, Leslie, and both their kids.
- Blind gives us Naruto and Hinata. These two have known each other their whole lives and marry. Justified in that they spent every living moment (potty breaks and baths excluded) together, due to Hinata being blind, from birth and continually hold hands.
- Chrono Trigger: Lucca, childhood friend to the main character Crono who ends up instead with Rebellious Princess Marle. There's no real dramatic tension between them in the game... unless you play the Fan Sequel Crimson Echoes, where it's played up more.
- In Project Ignition, the Jerkass main character Adler is extremely close to his Delicate and Sickly childhood friend, Selene, where just about anyone who meets them thinks they're together or should be, especially Llad and Lunaterisa. However, they see each other more like brother and sister...Somewhat.
- Hivefled: The Grand Highblood and the Condesce (who met when the Condesce was a preteen and the GHB was a baby). As moirails who are sexually involved, they're violating the taboos of troll culture, and then there's their endearing little hobby of bonding via the sexual abuse and murder of teenagers. One of the character bios for the story specifically notes that trolls (who aren't raised by their biological relatives) have no Westermark Effect.
- In The Matrix and Supernatural fanfic Hunting Series Neo and Dean met after John saved Neo/Tom Anderson from vampires as a kid. During highschool Dean attended Tom's school for a few months. Years later, when Neo goes from being a rebel/the One to a hunter they eventually go from just friends to lovers.
- Chiyo Ueda of Despair's Last Resort reveals that she was in love with a friend she knew since they were kids. Unfortunately she never knew how he felt before he died from a terminal illness. Kumiko Akamine also seems to have had this with Gundham Tanaka.
- Jill and Eustace from The Chronicles of Narnia are a popular ship, following this trope.
- In these The Most Popular Girls in School fanfictions, Than had always admired Tanner ever since they were kids. Unfortunately, it's all one-sided.
- A good number of Death Note fanworks have Matt and Mello falling in love at Wammy's House. Often (though not always), they reunite after a period of painful separation after Mello's In-Universe decision to leave Wammy's upon being told he'd be expected to work with Near.
- The Walt Disney Zorro fanfic series involving Diego de la Vega and Esperanza Montoya play with this quite a bit. Diego and Esperanza grew up together but when Diego came back from Spain at the start of the series, they start noticing how they've grown up and struggle to retain their friendship despite everyone around them noticing how much they care for each other.
- Having Kyuu date Megumi in Rakenzarn Tales is this. Fittingly, she's also the easiest girl to initiate a relationship with.
- Most Durarara!! Slash Fics that pair Mikado Ryugamine and Masaomi Kida will emphasize the fact that our leading boys were best friends since childhood.
- In Son of the Seven Kingdoms, William and Arya become the best of friends during his time fostering at Winterfell. When their fathers set up an Arranged Marriage between the two of them, it's intensely awkward at first, but as time goes on their feelings for each other bloom into an intense and genuine love.
- Cells at Work! fanfics that pair AE 3803 and U-1146 together like taking their first meeting as kids and turning it into a full-blooded childhood friendship. The fact that she never recognised him as the same kid is usually retconned away as her memory problems causing her to forget everything after the Bone Marrow incident.
- In You Built This House, Darling and Apple met as kids. It was a mutual attraction even then. Years later they meet again as teens. It turns out that they're destined to be together, though Apple is very deep in denial about her attraction to girls for most of the fic.
- The animation Strangers depicts Sweetie Belle and Button Mash as childhood friends who grew apart. They still miss each other.
- Sunsplit Saga: The potential romance between Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst, who knew each other as children, as specified in the source material, and that the latter had a crush on the former, as indicated in the first story. The third story indicates that there is likely reciprocation, given how Starlight's "face went from merely arguably pink to definitely pink", when Sunset Shimmer asked her, "So, again, why aren't you tongue tangoing the tasty treat that is your childhood friend?"
- Subverted in the oneshot So the Trauma. Everyone (including Kim herself) thought Kim and Ron, her best friend since pre-K, were destined to be together. That is until Kim realizes she's gay.
- Mirrors: Sheik explicitly states that Link was his childhood friend and childhood crush. Though he worries that Link only likes "Zelda", it works out between them.
- The Peace Not Promised: Severus Snape is sent back to a time when his friendship with Lily Evans is already broken. But because of that friendship, when he sets out to be a different man, she wants to believe he's sincere and give him another chance. She actually notes that the new Severus is more like how he was when they were children, serious but ambitious and visionary, rather than his bitter and angry teenage years. Her friends still can't imagine kissing someone with his looks, though.
- In the Ranma ½ fanfic Same Time Next Year, Ranma and Akane meet shortly after Ranma learned the Neko-Ken and develop a friendship which slowly turns into love.
- Kanto Calling: Misty's seventeen and has had a crush on her friend Ash since they were ten. Ash also likes Misty as well, but neither he nor Misty will admit to it.
- Wine Red no Kokoro: Karen and Jack met as kids, had a Childhood Marriage Promise, and then fell in love when they reunited as adults.
- In EVA Sessions: Someplace Vast and Dry, this is implied with Shinji and Asuka, who fought each over Shinji's stuffed penguin doll, that he later voluntarily gave her as a parting gift when she had to move away after her mother's death, and which she would cherish to the present day.
