"Instead, to Jack's mild surprise, he discovered he was worried about Alison. And Taneem, too, of course. But mostly he was worried about Alison. It was a rather annoying discovery, actually."
Kouji and Sayaka, the prototypical Battle Couple. Although in the original manga they got along well, the anime series took their Belligerent Sexual Tension up to eleven -some of their fights were legendary-. However, you always had moments where they stopped to get mad, bicker and insult each other and showed they cared for each other very much.
In episode 29 Kouji saw a Mechanical Beast -Grengus C3- walking from the direction where Aphrodite A -Sayaka's Fembot- had gone at before. Inmediately he panicked, got on a bike and drove towards the place, yelling "Sayaka" all the way (he was so freaked out he did not realize the bike he had got was not his). When he finally found her -wounded and lying down on the floor beside Aphrodite A's remains- he shook her awake and hugged her.
In another episode, Kouji and Sayaka got an genuine serious fight, and Sayaka refused to back him up in battle. When he was seriously injured, Sayaka took care of him in the hospital and kissed him in his comatose sleep.
Anna and Yoh in Shaman King. To be specific, there were a few instances of this to be shown, in the anime, when it was thought that Hao killed YohAnna has a Heroic BSOD moment, clinging onto his headphones and staring into space that goes on for a few episodes until he comes back from the dead. The two share a few words and she gives him back his headphones before he goes back into battle. In the manga and anime, when Yoh let's an evil spirit possess him to save his friend, the Spirit tells everyone he's going to force Yoh to kill himself when he possesses him. This causes Anna to drop to her knees in tears. This instance was the first instance that you realize that Anna truly does love Yoh. There are several more instances that crop up in the manga proving that both characters really do care about each other, like the first time they met, or when they spend the last night together before Yoh leaves to America.
Bossun and Tsubaki from Sket Dance, despite being rivals, team up well and have shown mutual respect for each other. Things only get better between the two of them after TheReveal.
Ranma: Please, Akane. I need you... to hear me now... I wanted to tell you... I wanted to tell you that I love you!
Also Ranma and Ukyo and Ranma and Shampoo, from a friendly rather than romantic standpoint. Ranma and Ryoga qualify as well.
And for that matter, Ranma and Genma. Even though they are always fighting and never really show any platonic affection for each other, they've got each other's back when it really counts. No mercy when it comes to food though. That stuff is serious business.
Ranma: Irresponsible jerk! *slaps Genma around* How dare you make us worry about you!
Urusei Yatsura's Ataru Moroboshi sums up his relationship with Lum when Mendo confronts him about how the oni princess would be much better off without him: "I hate being bound to Lum... but I hate people trying to take Lum away from me more!"
Also, when he was shown the possible future in which he had the harem he had always wanted and discovered that Lum had abandoned his future self due to some truly horrible treatment (pawning and selling her stuff, tricking her into working and making her sleep on the roof to make room for his other 'wives'), he proceeds to whack future-Ataru on the head and openly admitting that without Lum, a harem means nothing to him. Likewise, when he sees the future where he and Lum are just walking out of a church where their wedding took place and sees that Lum is so happy she's openly crying of joy, he softens up to the idea and proceeds to attempt to save this future (the others are about to be destroyed).
Happens a lot in Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan. Dokuro even claims in the opening theme that all of the torment she piles on Sakura is just how she shows her love (while she cuddles and kisses his lifeless body on the ground.)
In X1999 Seishirou and Subaru get some form of this, in their short conversation as Seishirou lays dying in Subaru's arms.
Kana and Chiaki from Minami-ke show the sisterly variety. Mostly seen fighting and arguing throughout the series, they also share some more intimate moments from time to time—especially when they face a threat from their big sister, Haruka.
In Kyouran Kazoku Nikki this happens more and more between Ouka and Kyouka as the series progresses. Oddly enough, it is Kyouka who works the hardest at this, despite her aggressive tendencies.
Suzuna and Kouichi in Moonlight Lady—after four episodes filled with lots of Slap-Slap-Kiss, they really start to grow on one another. It's heavily implied that it's more because of magic than actual love, however...
Haruhi Suzumiya and Kyon have many of these moments throughout the series.
During Remote Island Syndrome (anime only), Kyon and Haruhi are exploring the island in the storm, and they hold hands as Kyon admits to himself that he feels safer with her there. At the very end, he tells Koizumi that he knew the murder was fake from the start, since Haruhi would never wish for someone to actually die.
In The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kyon wakes up in the hospital, where he was apparently in a mini-coma for three days. Koizumi tells him that at Haruhi's orders, they've been taking shifts watching over him so that no matter what, someone familiar would be there when he woke up. Haruhi herself, however, insisted that it is her duty to watch over her subordinates, and spent all three days curled up in a sleeping bag in the corner next to Kyon's bed. And he wakes her up by gently caressing her face.
In a different sense, Haruhi and Mikuru. Haruhi usually molests, dresses up, and tortures poor Mikuru, but there have been scenes where the two of them show they really do care about each other as friends.
Despite hating one another at first, Natsume and Mikan of Gakuen Alice have gradually progressed to the point where they've confessed to one another. It almost seemed one-sided for a long time as Natsume had already declared his feelings twice before (Albeit once was quite indirect and anonymous), but she has finally realized how much she cares for him as well. In fact, taking into account their parents' history together, it seems that they were perhaps destined to be with one another.
Averted in Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt when Panty and Brief finally make love (implied to be more than just sex). Brief is falling from the sky and when Panty has a chance to save him, she flinches away from him in disgust because he's in dork mode.
And he falls straight into the keyhole of Hellsgate.
In Lucky Star there is a mild variety between fraternal twin sisters Kagami and Tsukasa. Kagami usually treats her sister as an annoying underachiever, which makes the scenes in which she shows her true feelings very sweet.
Sae of Hidamari Sketch usually acts distant toward younger sister Chika, which often gets them into fights with each other. She really does think fondly of her, though, as seen when Chika is sleeping and Sae slips a book with her autograph into her bag and gently strokes her hair, and when she gives her a nice necklace as a present in honor of her passing of an entrance exam.
In Axis Powers Hetalia, Russia stalks China, then (sort of) comforts him after Japan's betrayal. General Winter has tormented him since childhood, but protects him during wars and Russia CRIES saying "My friend can't be defeated this easily" after General Winter falls after trying to protect him from them mysterious enemy in the Hetalia Bloodbath 2010
The very dynamic of the Frying Pangle (Austria, Hungary, Prussia) works like this. While they do tend to quarrel and fight each other every now and them, they all really care and look out for one another.
France goes from taunting to genuinely concerned when he realizes his Sitcom Arch-Nemesis England is seriously sick in one strip and hurries to try to treat him. Sure, it's ruined when France gets a Dude, She's Like, in a Coma! moment and America bursts in, but it was sweet while it lasted.
England himself gets a moment in The Movie, where he cries out America's name in distress when the latter is hit by the aliens' transforming attack, leading to England getting distracted and hit as well.
Inner Moka from Rosario + Vampire acts cold to Tsukune and always tells him that she tolerates him to make Outer Moka happy, but God help you if she finds out you hurt him (later extends to the rest of his harem). Tsukune, meanwhile, is scared of her at first, then admits in chapter 27 of season 2 (manga) that he loves her as much as he loves Outer Moka and wants them to become one person. And now Tsukune is putting himself through a potentially deadly surgery so he'll have the power to protect her.
Misaki from Junjou Romantica can't say "I love you" toward his boyfriend Usami, only managed to do so once, constantly shouts and scolds him (not that there aren't any reasons for all that), and always denies their relationship when asked, even though it's painfully obvious they're in love, but when his schoolmate made a move on Usami, he was really quick to react and go all "He's mine!"
Although not an Official Couple as of yet, Soul from Soul Eater literally throws himself in front of Maka to protect her at least three times during the manga, despite acting like a jerk to her most of the time. (Although Soul says it's his job as a weapon, you don't see Tsubaki doing that for Black*Star or either of the Thompson sisters doing that for Kid.) Maka's also devastated and blames herself when Soul is in the hospital after nearly being killed by Crona and infected with Black Blood, despite her being a jerk to him as well. Later chapters tend to show Soul being more compassionate toward Maka, especially during the fight with the Clown and in the Book of Eibon's Sloth chapter, where he doesn't need or allow Maka to apologize for her behaviour. They also tend to hold hands or have an arm around the other.
Liz seems to be this way towards Kid recently; she's always calling him 'prissy' and trying to kick him out of his OCD-mode, but at one point in time refers to him as 'wonderful' and starts to cry at the thought of his hospitality and her inability to thank him for it.
Black*Star towards Tsubaki, when he refuses to move from her side as she fights her brother, allowing her to take center stage. Tsubaki also seems to feel this way towards Black*Star, as she is the only one who stands up for him.
Ai No Kusabi ends with a tragic version of this. Despite being in a Master and "Pet" relationship which Riki hated and therefor was hostile to his master Iason, there are no doubts at the end that Iason and Riki were in love with one another. Iason was fatally injured and Riki stays by his side to die with him in an exploding fortress.
A familial version happens occasionally in Wandering Son. Maho is typically an angry Jerkass toward her little brother, however occasionally she'll show affection toward him, or at least show signs that she loves him. Like when she stood up for him when he was being mobbed by girls when they began modeling (though maybe that was out of jealously), when she freaked out over the thought that he was mistaken for a girl and kidnapped, when she felt guilty after making fun of him when was dumped, or (in the anime) when she gave him some extra food at dinner when they had an argument.
In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Jolyne Kujo's relationship with Jotaro is rocky enough that she refuses to acknowledge him as her father. However, when he loses his Stand and memory and ends up in a state that's all but dead while helping her escape from prison, she forgoes her chance at freedom for the slim hope of bringing him back.
Episode 18 of Sakurasou No Pet Na Kanojo reveals more of Jin and Misaki's back story, and why he always felt he was never good enough for her. Despite that, Sorata and Nanami help them to meet each other at least one more time before he goes off to Osaka for college.
Comic Books
Cain and Abel from The Sandman. Cain regularly murders his brother (he gets better). Abel never makes much of a fuss, until he gets killed by someone else; both brothers are extremely upset about this.
Ball and Chain is about a marriage on the rocks. A couple that can't seem to get along. But Edgar and Mallory show that they really care about each other occasionally. When Edgar thinks he's going to die, he narrates that you're supposed to see your life flash before your eyes... but all he can think of is Mallory. When Mallory thinks Edgar is dead, she weeps bitterly and says that he was everything to her.
Kai and Violet from Hogwarts Houses Divided, frequently demonstrate this, though considering their age, YMMV on whether this is Aw Look They Really Do Love Each Other, or a Friendship Moment
In the Tamers Forever Series, despite constantly mocking Takato, Rika frequently shows genuine concern for him, something that nobody else fails to notice
Rika: You HAVE to let us go help him!
Ms Asagi: If I didn't know you, Miss Nonaka, I'd think you're worried about young Takato.
Susie: Calvin, you live by your own rules! You make things up! You create! You destroy! You tease temptation! You do all sorts of horrible things, most of them to me, yes, but then there are days you do good all on your own! You shouldn't let something like Karma run your life! You need to be rude and nasty and gross and weird, so that you can be good on your own accord.
In Marie D Suesse A Nd The Mystery New Pirate Age, Mar's parents' marriage is plagued by frequent arguing, her father is often not home, and Mar herself is fairly critical about both her parents' flaws. Toward the end of the fic, it is revealed that the tragic events of the last 20 years in the One Piece world can be undone, but doing so will result in Madelyn- who is actually Mar's mother- never eating her Devil Fruit, which also means that she never meets Mar's father or had Mar. They take it fairly hard, and spend their final minutes together as a family.
In Kung Fu Hustle, the ferocious landlady and her cowardly husband, who have been squabbling for the entire first part of the movie (she even throws him out the window and hits him in the head with a flower pot), band together to defend the neighborhood from the Axe Gang, fight the Beast, and nurse the movie's hero back to health.
They also had a brief dance together... before resuming their usual henpecking roles.
Ball and Chain - Sunil Malhotra's and Lisa Ray's characters are forced into an engagement by their parents. They do all they can to sabotage the relationship, which is cool until realize they may have feelings for each other. By this time, Lisa Ray's character is engaged to someone else.
In Blindness, the Japanese couple seem to be incredibly strained after they become blind, to the point of her rejecting him completely. But after a while they reconcile. The same goes for the Doctor and his wife, who is sickened and humiliated with how she cares for him now like he was a baby rather than her husband, but ultimately they prove to still care for each other.
Han Solo and Princess Leia from Star Wars might have moments like these onlyunder threat of carbonite freezing, death by stormtrooper, or in post-I-can-t-believe-we-survived-that-elation, but they do have them.
The Expanded Universe novels take this further. Whenever they're together it's hinted at, and finally results in Han winning a planet in a game of Sabacc to give it to Leia as a gift in a fit of jealousy after the Hapan Consortium offers her a shitload of shinies to marry their prince. This doesn't work, so he kidnaps her, takes her to the planet and makes her a bet: if he gets her to love him in seven days or less, she has to marry him. Of course the trip goes horribly wrong but she does end up loving him and they do get married. Later books show that they have kids.
C-3PO and R2-D2 even have a moment in A New Hope. After blowing up the Death Star, the team pulls R2 out of the X-Wing in disrepair. 3PO is in a panic, begging the others to fix the droid and even offering to donate any of his own parts to help with the repairs.
Bud and Lindsay Brigman from The Abyss. At the start of the movie they're in the middle of a very bitter divorce, but a few near-death experiences remind them that they still do, in fact, love each other, to the point of being willing to die for one another.
In GoldenEye, despite delivering a Reason You Suck Speech to Bond and even saying she had no problem sending him to his death as long as it was worth something, M tells him:
In the 2nd book of the Prydain Chronicles, Taran is yelling at Eilonwy for following them into danger, but when Ellidyr echoes the sentiments Taran defends her.
That kind of thing happens a lot where those two are concerned.
It doesn't hurt that Ellidyr is the The Rival and an all-around Jerk Ass.
Played with in Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne. When her husband is trying to drag her into the well along with her, Dolores has a sudden image of her neighbours finding their bodies together and thinking that they committed suicide like this to show how much they loved each other. The fact that people would think this give Dolores the strength to struggle free from her husband's grasp.
Happened to Jack and Alison a bit near the end of the Dragonback series.
Katniss and Haymitch have one of these moments in Mockingjay, the 3rd book of The Hunger Games. Katniss breaks down crying because she is upset over Peeta's capture and torture at the hands of the Capitol. Though she could have asked for just about anyone, she only wants to be comforted by Haymitch. Haymitch, who is usually a Jerk Ass, sits down and consoles her.
Buttercup's parents in The Princess Bride. They bicker so much that they keep score, but when Buttercup's father feels that his life is so sufficiently complete that "Now I can die," his wife looks at him fondly and replies, "Don't." The narration further states that when he really does die a few years later, she dies almost immediately afterward, with the majority of their acquaintances being of the opinion that it was the 'sudden lack of opposition that did her in.' (This does not apply to The Film of the Book, where her parents don't exist.)
Derk and Mara in Dark Lord Of Derkholm. They seem to be drifting apart over most of the book, but eventually are brought back together, and decide to have another baby (with wings, even).
And of course, Howl and Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle. The sequel outright says that they're happiest when they're bickering.
Also, Michael had commented to Sophie that the day Howl forgets to take two hours every morning to perfect himself would be the day that he has truly fallen in love. So when Sophie gets kidnapped by the Witch of the Waste, Howl arrives to rescue her looking like absolute, bedraggled hell.
The Sisters Grimm is the definition of this trope. Sabrina and Puck spend most of the time together arguing. When they're not arguing, they are giving each other silent treatments. Puck frequently tells Sabrina that she's ugly, but then, when he finds out she's experimenting with makeup, he tells her that she doesn't need to wear it.
The whole point of Mil Millington's Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About. Though the protagonist and his girlfriend live in a state of open war and have raging argument down to a science, it's really just surface noise; their relationship is the most solid one in the book. This is based on the author and his girlfriend's real life together, which he describes as "The secret to happiness is to become irretrievably embroiled in a bitter fight to the death."
In Warrior Cats, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw are almost the poster couple for this pairing. There's at least four fights between them a book.
Also, Firestar and Sandstorm in the first arc suit this trope, too. Sandstorm hates Firestar until he saves her life in Fire and Ice, when she starts to like him.
A father-daughter version in American Pastoral when Swede and Merry reunite for the first time in five years. Despite all the terrible things that happened between them, they cry and hold onto each other and express their love... and then trouble starts again.
Alanna and George in the Tortall Universe. George has made his feelings known to her, though Alanna has been avoiding talking about it, thinking it might ruin their friendship. But when they were on a trip and George was badly wounded, she was panicking, begging him not to die and not moving from his bedside the whole night until he woke up.
George: (teasing her) " I didn't know that you cared."
Alanna: (wiping her tears) " Of course I care, you unprincipled pickpocket! Of course I care!"
Tal and Mila from the Seventh Tower book series, when they first met they alternate between wanting to kill each other and fighting about their cultural differences, but when it comes to what matters they work together very well and by the end they had a strong bond of trust and friendship.
Mr. Knightly and Emma and always arguing or disagreeing about something. However, they both really do care about each other's opinion and are truly the very best of friends.
Happens a lot between Ron and Hermione. For instance, early on in Order of the Phoenix, after they had spent most of the book so far bickering at each other as usual, Hermione unexpectedly offers to finish Ron's overdue homework (which she almost never does), to which Ron replies "Hermione, you are the most wonderful person I have ever met!"
In the ColSec Trilogy, Jeko and Heleth's interactions consist primarily of him needling her and her lashing out at him (usually by calling him a "yeck-mouth," but occasionally by outright getting violent) in response. But every so often, they'll turn around and display genuine concern for one another.
In Joyce's Ulysses, the last chapter is the main character's wife's internal monologue. She's ordered him around and cheated on him through the whole book, and portions of the monologue are her debating whether to leave him or not. But the word "yes" keeps popping up even when not warranted by the sentence. In the last lines, the reader discovers that she's stuck on the word "yes" because she's remembering the day she accepted his marriage proposal, by saying "yes, yes I will, yes."
The Host gives us BrothersIan and Kyle who spend most of the story against one another, especially where it relates to Wanda, and it gets to the point where Ian is briefly the main person trying to kick Kyle out of the caves. Just when you think they are going to fall into Cain and Abel territory, they get moments that reveal their bond and love for each other.
Live Action TV
Mama's Family: For all the bickering, arguing and name calling that goes on, the Harpers – even Thelma and Naomi, who were constantly at each other's throats – will grudgingly admit they love and care for each other, and ultimately they will always stick up for one another.
Sanford and Son: Fred and Lamont were always at odds, usually over Lamont wanting to pursue a real job and get married. However, at least during the original series, Lamont agrees to stick it out at the junkyard, feeling an obligation to look after his father. Also, Fred and Aunt Esther were always at each other's throats, but in the end, they could count on each other to help each other in their time of need.
Near the end of "Frank's Tribute," after an unresolved dispute in bed, Frank takes a tissue, wipes off Marie's facial beauty cream, and says "I like you better without the crap on your face."
Al and Peg on Married... with Children Strange, because one of the show's creators, Ron Leavitt, relates a story in which, during a pitch session for selling the show, someone suggested they write this trope in for the Bundys, whereupon Leavitt replied, "You are everything that is wrong with American television today." Of course, they might've decided to give Al a reason to stick around. Maybe because it's funny for him to be trapped with his wife because he cares - Al once says about getting a new car that it would be like "trading you [Peggy] in for a young blonde with new, smooth, factory-warranted hooters. Sure the first few rides would be nice but in the long run, and this Peg, is what depresses me everyday, I realize that... You're the one I want."
One might say that this also involves his family. When in Hell during a near-death experience, Al is given the choice of returning to Earth with a trio of gorgeous women (leaving them in Hell), or returning WITH his family. He chooses his family, and even as their bickering resumes, observes it with a smile on his face.
Bud and Kelly too. They insult each other and scheme against each other constantly, but when the chips are down, they do stick up for family.
Dr Cox and Jordan on Scrubs Zigzagged as it is stated early on that they both like being mean (to both each other and others). Then it becomes clear that Dr. Cox is, at heart, a terrific guy. He uses the surface nastiness as a protective shell. Jordan, on the other hand, definitely does delight in cruelty, though she's not all bad.
Dr Cox and JD, kinda. Though it does become apparent a few times that they (both) do care, the final episode, in which Cox defends JD from (set-up) false bad claims shows this.
George and Lucille from Arrested Development, especially evidenced in the episode "Visiting Ours" where his wife agrees to a conjugal visit in jail and they begin arguing angrily and end up ravishing each other.
With GOB pressed up against a window and forced to watch.
Also, most people forget that, over the course of the entire series, there were one or two of these for Tobias and Lindsay (notably at the end of season one, when he overcame his never nude status).
Niles and Maris on Frasier (this was later undermined somewhat by their vitriolic divorce)
Although since Maris was She Who Must Not Be Seen, (and the longer the show ran, the more horrible her offscreen actions became), the couple might easily have been a one-sided version of the trope, making it depressing rather than heartwarming.
Ralph and Alice on The Honeymooners are constantly fighting, but have such a moment at the end of every episode, giving an opportunity for Ralph to say one of his Catch Phrases: "Baby, you're the greatest."
Fred and Ethel Mertz of I Love Lucy had many such moments. In fact, in an early episode, when Lucy assumes that Fred and Ethel can't stand each other based on their bickering, Ethel laughingly corrects her: "We're not fighting — this is how we make love!"
Ironically, in Real Life, Vivian Vance and William Frawley absolutely and unconditionally detested each other and never, ever had this kind of moment. They hated each other so much that by the end of the series, they would not speak except when the script required it.
C.C. Babcock and Niles in The Nanny profess their love for each other towards the end of the series
Xander and Cordelia had their fair share of this during early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" comes especially to mind.
Cordelia: And you know what? I'll date whoever the hell I want to date! ...No matter how lame he is!
In Babylon 5, Londo Mollari openly badmouths all of his wives, which, considering that they openly badmouth him back or are gold-diggers, this isn't unexpected. When he is given a reward from the emperor as thanks for his years of service, he asks for a divorce. He is required to keep at least one for official purposes, so two openly try to seduce him while the third treats him like crap. However, the first two conspire to murder him for the inheritance. The third anonymously gives him a blood transfusion to help him survive. Guess which one he keeps. In the Expanded Universe novels, they come close to rekindling the relationship they used to have back when they first were married, but Londo, fearing that the Drakh might use her against him, had to send her away.
Mal and Inara in Firefly. Piece of advice: don't call Inara a whore when Mal's around. Or pick a fight with Mal around the not-incense.
Of course, Mal has no problems calling her a whore himself, although he explains that when he says it, he means her job, while everyone else means her.
Sun and Jin on LOST spend most of season 1 emotionally estranged, but they get a fabulous moment in "Exodus Part 1" as they declare their love before Jin sets off on the raft.
When Wilson decides to donate a part of his liver to a patient, House refuses to come to the operation because, as he tells Wilson, "If you die, I'm alone." House ends up going anyways, creating another example.
Wilson thinks House is trying to push the limits of their friendship until it breaks. Later that episode, House protects Wilson by making him leave the room while House helps a patient kill themselves and tells him, "I don't want to push this until it breaks."
House and Wilson are generally very protective of each other. When Cuddy responds coldly to a very rare attempt by House to be nice, Wilson buys the apartment she and Lucas wanted to use to move in together and says "She hurt my friend. She should be punished."
Despite not being an official couple yet, Sonny Munroe and Chad Dylan Cooper from Sonny With A Chance have at least one Aw Look moment an episode.
They are now an Official Couple. And they've "broken up" three times in the past three episodes. Yet it's been made very clear that they care about each other, and for every second that they snark at each other, there's another second or two where they are completely adorable.
While not technically a romantic couple, Sam and Dean of Supernatural have had their moments. For example, the season two episode Tall Tales has Sam and Dean sniping at each other Like an Old Married Couple. But at the end of the episode, we get this:
Sam: Look, Dean, um, I just wanna say that I'm, uh... um...
Dean: Hey. Me too.
Castiel and Dean also have these moments, and it's obvious that it breaks Dean's heart when Castiel lets Crowley manipulate him like a puppet down the road to hell. Also, there's the entire reason why Castiel went to Crowley for help in the first place: that Dean wasn't there for him.
Paul and Estelle on Fortysomething. Every episode ends with one of these moments.
Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran in the SG-1 finale, though this was subverted through a Reset Button.
John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir in the Atlantis episode Misbegotten.
Sheppard: How much diplomatic trouble is it going to cause if I knock this Woolsey guy upside his head?!
Weir: What makes you feel like that?
Sheppard: Beside from judging every damn decision you ever made???
Weir: John Sheppard, are you defending my honor?
Sheppard: ...and judging me for agreeing with you?
Don't forget a much earlier instance. Specifically, The Siege, Part 3. Sheppard had gone out on a kamikaze mission and came back due to the Daedalus' Big Damn Heroes moment.
Sheppard: I'm home!
Weir:(calmly walks up then hugs him) Yes... yes, you are...
(Meredith) Rodney McKay and Jeannie Miller, two estranged siblings, reconcile after four years in the Atlantis episode "McKay and Mrs. Miller".
Lionel and Lex from time to time. Subverted in the end, however.
Merlin and Arthur bicker and insult each other most of their time. But when it comes down to it, they do really care for each other and will sacrifice themselves to protect or save the other.
Arthur and Morgana have a similar dynamic, as well. (Well, Not so much now that Morgana wants to kill everyone and take over the throne. But before that.)
Malcolm in the Middle has the familial version of this trope. Sure, 99% of the time Malcolm's family is a dysfunctional mess, but when Hal's relatives drive Lois to tears at a family reunion, Hal gets the courage to Call The Old Man Out while the brothers singlehandedly demolish the entire party with a golf cart.
Also the scene in Lois' Birthday where Hal and the boys take on a posse of clowns.
The short-lifed cooking show parody Posh Nosh the annoying Stepford Smiler wife and her obviously gay husband can't help but get on each other's nerves. However when Simon's in deep mourning over the death of his lover tennis coach, Minty happily introduces him to a new tennis coach who has a striking similarity...
In All in the Family, once or twice every season or so there would be a special episode made just to prove that Archie may be a Jerkass, but he still is just as much in love with Edith as she is with him.
A twisted example on Law & Order: The perp is on trial for killing her husband. Said husband was her therapist when she was young, and they had a sexual relationship while she was still his patient. Part of the evidence was a set of tapes labeled "Meredith", with the victim talking about a young patient in a very romantic/pedophilic way. The prosecution's theory was that she killed him out of jealousy. The wife's defense was A) the "trauma" of her childhood sex, and B) Finding those tapes and realizing that he was doing the same thing to another girl. The reveal? "Meredith" was the name of the town the victim took his wife for getaways. The tapes were about her, not some other girl. The tapes were notes, for a memoir he was writing of their affair. When the wife realized the truth, she broke down crying, on the witness stand, and started apologizing.
At least one of the three main couples in Modern Family experiences this nearly every episode.
Not just the couples, the main characters (who are all family after all) all have these moments with each other regularly.
Olivia: You're the longest relationship I've ever had with a man. Who else would put up with me?
Elliot: Sorry about that.
Olivia: Don't be. (pause) Do you want to get something to eat?
Elliot: Sure. Who's paying?
Olivia: Well, you do have four kids and you are going through a divorce...so I guess you are.
Elliot: That's what I figured.
Also Fin and Munch. When Munch gets shot in the ass, Fin brings him his favorite milkshake and says he's glad Munch pulled through. Doesn't stop Fin from joking about the situation in a later episode, though.
Basil throwing a surprise anniversary party for Sybil in Fawlty Towers. The trope name was even mentioned by the actress of Sybil in the DVD extras.
In Doctor Who, River Song and the Doctor can get this vibe, since especially in some of the Doctor's earlier meetings with her, he spent a lot of it directing insults at her and feeling out-of-sorts.
"Let's Kill Hitler" is loaded with these moments for the Doctor and River, despite the fact that she's technically not even there. Early in the episode, the Doctor keeps making reference to River and from this, a new character immediately picks up on how much he really cares about her. And then, when dying, he gives Melody a message to give River and her response is "I think she knows." Made all the more poignant by the fact that Melody discovers a few moments later that she is, or will become, River.
Done in Tear Jerker fashion between Pete and Jackie Tyler in Father's Day. Despite all the bickering, jealousy, and hostility expressed by Jackie in this episode, she has one Last Kiss with Pete...just before his Heroic Sacrifice.
Blake's 7 has at least one scene of this kind a season between Avon and Vila, although some are quite subtle. A good example would be when Avon defends Vila from Tarrant.
Primeval, season 2: Connor and Abby spend the first half of an episode arguing, but when Abby is taken by one of the creatures of the week, Connor cries.
(Probably) non-romantic version of this occurs on NCIS. Wherein both Kate and Ziva seem to find Tony intolerable, until (about Once a Season) he gets kidnapped, blown up, catches the plague, etc.
Lister and Rimmer in Red Dwarf. Notably the part where Lister tells Rimmer there was nothing wrong with the way he lived in Holoship, or Lister wanting to give Rimmer a good send-off when he leaves to become the next Ace.
While Castle isn't exactly secretive about his feelings toward Detective Beckett, as he constantly jokes about it, Beckett belittles Castle - sometimes jokingly, sometimes not - at least once an episode, if not more. Throughout the first season she can't wait for him to leave and in the finale of season 3, ends her partnership with Castle for good though. But she also, at least once an episode, shows that she really does enjoy having him around, whether by stating that she'd break him out of jail, defending him to someone else, or simply by the look on her face. Castle himself also gets a rather serious one in the season 3 finale when Kate is shot and he tells her 'I love you' right before she loses consciousness. According to Word Of God, she heard him.
At least twice, Beckett has attempted to start something with Castle, even breaking up with her then-boyfriend for that. Unfortunately, he had just gotten back together with his second ex-wife. The second time, she goes to her bedroom in their luxury suite, only to come back a minute later, but Castle has already gone to his room. Timing is not one of Beckett's strong suits.
These moments are the only reason Ben and Susan Harper of My Family have yet to murder each other.
In The Pretender, Miss Parker has several of these moments with both Sydney and Broots, not in romantic terms but in terms of 'they are my people, hurt them and I will kill you'. One particularly striking example:
Miss Parker:(talking to Lyle) As much as I hate to admit it, Broots is more of a brother to me than you will ever be.
She also has moments like this with Jarod, siding with him a few times over the course of the series, though even by the end of the second movie she still can't bring herself to completely break her ties with the Center.
In the same episode with the above quote, Jarod has a moment like this with Broots, helping him to clear his name and being helped by him to track down Damon. Despite Broots being on Team Capture Jarod, Jarod kills the only person he kills in the entire series run to protect him.
JAG: In the final episode and after 9 seasons, Harm and Mac go from friends to lovers.
The X-Files: Mulder and Scully have several moments like this.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Worf spends the whole show glaring at Data more intensely than anyone else, but when Data's Shuttlecraft explodes and he is presumed destroyed in "The Most Toys", he looks absolutely devastated and says very quietly "Data...", he spends the rest of the episode with his head slightly down and seems to be smiling when Data is found safe at the end of the episode. Keep in mind that Worf never smiles...
The Parlotones (a South African rock band) portrays this in their music video for Push Me to the Floor, in which the married couple spend the entire video getting back and sabotaging at each other in every possible way...and at the end start getting frisky and about to have sex on a billiards table.
In the final song of The Simpsons Sing the Blues, "Sibling Rivalry," after it ends with a quiet a capella refrain about their fractious relationship, you hear softly afterward Bart say "Let go of my hand, Lisa."
Depending on your interpretation, either played straight or deconstructed in The Pogues' "Fairytale Of New York".
Newspaper Comics
Beetle Bailey: Happens sometimes between Sarge and Beetle, or Sarge and the privates in his company in general, typically involving a situation where someone is about to leave the company but starts remembering all the good times they've had together. Sometimes subverted instead: One party's happy memories about their times together are ones that make the other angry.
Theater
John and Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible realize this just a bit too late.
Walter and Marion spend almost all of Don't Drink The Water bickering like the old married couple they are...until Marion starts to cry with worry over their escape plan. Walter finally calms his brash demeanor to comfort her and the two remember their first few dates together.
In Fiddler On The Roof, Golde and Tevye get their moment after seeing their first two daughters marry for love. Up until now all we've seen is Golde harassing Tevye and Tevye evading her. In a charming duet they consider the fact that theirs was an Arranged Marriage and they'd never met until they were reciting their wedding vows. After evading for awhile Golde finally admits that yes, she does love him and he responds in kind. If done well, these two can outshine all the young couples as the cutest in the show.
In Fools, a curse not only makes most of the characters stupid but also prevents them from falling in love. Once the curse is broken, the parents of The Ingenue, Sophia, Lenya and Nikolai realize they've always loved each other
In the musical of Les Misérables, the song "Beggars at the Feast" at the end sung by the Thénardiers, in which they join together to sing a comic relief song about how they will continue robbing and being corrupt until they go to hell proves that they are perfect for each other, despite the musical partner of the song, "Master of the House", having a whole verse in which Madame Thénardier insults her husband's intelligence, demeanor and manhood (though he probably deserved most of it). Heartwarming indeed.
Only not so much when you consider that their daughter's just been murdered, and they don't seem to care in the least.
Video Games
In Fantasia - Requiem of the Abyss, Cain and Valen spend most of the time insulting each other. Cue "awwww" when he says that he loves her. On a less romantic side, Oswald and Valen as well. Stern daddy admits he cares about daughter's safety.
Luke and Tear in Tales Of The Abyss is an example though they're only rude to each other in the first part of the game. Everyone but the two seem to know about it.
As do Bastila Shan and a male player. The relationships in the sequel are much less combative, unless you want to be literal about the training sessions with the Handmaiden.
Happens when Hawke is romancing Merrill as a rival in Dragon Age II.
Really any rival romance is like this. Extra points go to the Anders rivalmance.
Anders: I swear I don't know whether to kiss you or kill you.
Followed by him saying that he aches for Hawke and later in the romance scene he says that losing him/her would kill him.
Karl and Lynn from Valkyria Chronicles. So much that their (in-game) death quotes are entirely of one of them calling out to another... in a really sad way.
Radiata Stories has Jack and Ridley who initially can't hold a conversation that doesn't involve insulting each other. After a mssion goes wrong, Jack devotes himself to protecting her and she becomes affectionate in return.
Possibly subverted in the end of Ratchet and Clank Deadlocked/Gladiator, where the commentators Dallas and Juanita, having verbally attacked each other all through the game, end up getting married, though this was a result of deception on Dallas' part. They then go on to star in their own TV show, where Juanita attempts to kill him in every episode.
If you end up taking Banjo or Kazooie far apart from each other in Banjo-Tooie, they will end up whining about missing each other. And considering how much they argue, their differing personalities, and the fact Banjo often uses Kazooie as a weapon, this means A LOT.
Kaltos and Charlotte from The Spirit Engine 2 if you have them in the same party. Despite constant bickering and insults, they suddenly turn out to love each other near the end, even though there's no indication of it whatsoever.
Nick will spend all of Left 4 Dead 2 insulting his comrades, but if any of them die, he may say something about how he'll miss them, except for Ellis on some occasions.
In the end of Chibi Robo, after Chibi and Mr. Sanderson have saved the house from the Spydorz, Mrs. Sanderson rushes to his side, tackles him to the ground and, and gives him a big smooooch! She considers the argument they've been having over the entire game to be over.
Radiant Historia has one and only one moment where Stocke and Raynie share affection, during a Non-Standard Game Over, and it's a doozie. In which they give up fighting to live in peace together for an entire year before the world ends together. Stocke uses the White Chronicle to go back in time to tell Raynie he can't give up fighting, and instead makes The Promise.
He goes along with it immediately when it becomes clear that she intends to use her Dream Self for the suicide mission, rather than her "real" self.
This happens with Karkat and Terezi in a more typical fashion via Trollian, when despite their constant bickering, they have a conversation ending with mutual <3's (although Karkat's is after Terezi logs off).
Later, in the aftermath ofTerezi being forced to murder Vriska to save the lives of everyone else,, Karkat shows up with some support.
And then again later, when Terezi expresses insecurity stemming from the radness of her ancestor and fear for her usefulness to the group, Karkat gives a very sweet response about how she doesn't need all that crap because she's already a beautiful person deep down. It makes such an impression on her that after he leaves she goes to follow him...only to be stopped by Meenah wondering if Karkat asked her out on a date. Terezi seems genuinely upset.
Also, this conversation between Karkat and John.
CG: WAIT FOR JADE TO SEND THAT CODE, WAIT FOR ME TO CONTACT YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND DO YOUR BEST TO HUMOR HIM WHILE HE IGNORANTLY ATTEMPTS TO FLAME YOU BACK INTO THE PUDDLE OF SLIME YOU CRAWLED OUT OF.
CG: PLEASE.
EB: oh, man.
EB: our "first" conversation ever? i can't wait.
CG: YEAH, BUT CAN I JUST SAY SOMETHING IN MY DEFENSE BEFORE THAT HAPPENS?
CG: I DON'T ACTUALLY HATE YOU, AND I NEVER DID. I WAS DELUDING MYSELF.
CG: DEEP DOWN I'M SURE I WAS ALWAYS PRETTY OK WITH YOU.
In Girl Genius, Gil responds to his father sending a small army, led by a Jager, to capture him (and maim him, if he resists) with "He DOES care!"
And by "capture" we mean "remove from a place that may very well get wiped off the map soon if any little thing goes wrong." Vole is cuddly compared to what he's planning to hit the place with.
Tarvek: I can't believe [Gil] was here, and you let him get away! We could have... have... kept him prisoner! We could have used him as a hostage! A bargaining chip! We could have... we could have... we could have kept him safe.
In Blip, when Bang first enters the scene, he and K start fighting almost non-stop. Name calling starts, ClusterFBombs are thrown, and catfights are held. But when the turmoil stops, it's clear that K is really happy to see him. Later, there's a few photographs of how their friendship has changed since 2nd grade. It hasn't.
In Pictures Of You, Christo and Michelle spend all there time either fighting or screwing - no in-betweens. It isn't until Michelle thinks she's pregnant that they themselves admit that they are in love with each other. Of course, they proceed to fight afterwards...
From Looking for Group, Benny and her adoptive father Krunch. Constant snarking, but he always looks out for her, and she really does adore him. Still, when she hugs him with tears in her eyes, she cries out in joy "Old cow!" (He's a minotaur.)
In Platinum Grit Nils torments Jeremy without mercy and angrily denies any suggestion that she has feelings for him. But she loses her shit whenever he almost dies and becomes insanely (and transparently) jealous when Kate takes him out on a date.
Penny Arcade's Gabe and Tycho. When they're not insulting or threatening one another with bodily harm.
In The Order of the Stick, Roy and Julia are shown to have a fairly strong sibling rivalry, considering that Julia is the favored child of Eugene for pursuing magic. However, a bit of a shouting match, Roy asks how she's doing and the two proceed to hug it out, saying that they love each other. This utterly confuses Nale, who believes that siblings should have an unreasonable hatred of each other and be each others' sworn enemies.
Captain Falcon and Pit's relationship in There Will Be Brawl can be borderline abusive sometimes. But when someone else threatens to hurt Pit...
Captain Falcon: I may have held mercy for you before. But there is only one fist that can bruise the face of my angel. FALCONNNNNNNN PUNCH!
There's also Mario and Luigi (in a more platonic, brotherly sense). They start out violently arguing quite a bit especially when Peach is involved, but start working together again when things get really serious.
Mario: "Alone? Luigi...there are two Mario Brothers."
In Plague And Treachery On The Oregon Trail, Cyrus goes psychotic when he finds out the sheer number of how many men his wife has slept with behind his back, and she ends up doing a running away to live in the wilderness, only for them to realize they really do care for each other, and will start their lives over together in Oregon.
John Stewart and Shayera Hol in "Comfort and Joy" and "Wild Cards" from Justice League.
Flash and Hawkgirl share a similar heartwarming scene in the finale. He was very vocal in his defense over why Hawkgirl shouldn't be kicked out of the group and before she left on her own, he stopped her so he could hug her.
Reciprocated in the Season Fauxnale of Justice League Unlimited, 'Divided we Fall'. When Flash, in his Crowning Moment of Awesome proceeds to trash the combined Luthor/Brainiac entities by punching repeatedly him at superluminal speed, and literally skinning Brainiac from Luthor's body at superspeed is called into the very source of his powers, with no way to return back Shayera seems unable to accept his apparent fate. She then instigates an human chain inside the Speed Force, literally begging Wally to "take her hand" and return to the real world. When she finally gets her friend back, she tenderly caresses and hugs him, with her on-and-off boyfriend John Stewart joining in as a cheesy, happy family glad to have gotten their wayward kid back.
In the season finale of Batman The Animated Series the Joker, in quite a grumpy mood, pushes his "girlfriend" Harley Quinn off a building, injuring her deeply. She finally comes to see that he never cared for her....untill she sees roses and a get well card from him. Awwwww(ful).
There's also the episode, "You Scratch My Back", where Batgirl chastises Nightwing (aka Dick Grayson) for his aloof behavior as well as the fact he's partnered with Catwoman. They eventually show their feelings to each other by the end of this episode.
There's a non-romantic example in the season two finale of Metalocalypse.
Toki Wartooth: Nathans, the real reason you tells me this is that you cares abouts me.
Once in a blue moon someone will say something about how they do consider the other band members (or the Manager) their friends. To name a few:
Nathan calling the band is "stupid, dumb, fucked up dysfunctional family" in Fatherklok. He also insists in "Dethzazz" that the rest of the band has to help Toki recover from his punishment coma despite the fact that the band wouldn't suffer at all musically from his absence.
Pickles' line about calling the band his family in Rehabklok.
Charles telling the band that they're all important to him in Doublebookedklok.
Nathan apologizing to Pickles despite the fact that doing so literally causes him to vomit blood and cringe in pain.
An example of familial love, In an episode of Ben 10 where Ben is stuck as an alien and kidnapped by an "alien hunter", Gwen sees him trapped in a glass jar and says:
Another one takes place in the movie, Secret of The Omnitrix when Ben thinks that Gwen is dead. He breaks down crying (something he never did in the entire series), and runs to hug her when it turns out she wasn't.
In an episode of Chowder, Mung and Truffles get into an argument that escalates in vitrol and volume; it ends in a prompt make-out session. They part with "GET AWAY FROM ME."
In an episode of The Simpsons, when Marge and Homer go to couples counciling, another couple is shown bickering, and throwing mean, petty insults at eachother. Then the reverend asks them to look into each others' eyes...
Lisa and Bart sometimes have these moments, though it's also obvious that the only thing fragmenting their relationship is just Sibling Rivalry. Still, you find moments where something a significant fallout happens between them then they make up and realize they're still family.
Averted in Moral Orel. After all the crap they've put each other through, Clay and Bloberta genuinely hate one another, and their own children. The only Aw Look They Really Do Love Each Other moment even vaguely suggested in the show is the fact that Clay tears up for a split-second when talking about the mistakes he's made during a drunken rant. The other residents of Moralton fare little better, though there are enough Pet the Dog moments to keep it from being an irredeemable Crap Sack World.
Percy and Anastasia in Kevin Spencer. They routinely fight with and cheat on each other, but are still in love (or at least lust). They also get extremely jealous when the other cheats - Anastasia gets pissed off when Percy hires prostitutes, while Percy will cheerfully attempt to kill anyone who dates Anastasia.
Percy and Anastasia supposedly keep Kevin around for the money they would get for having a dependant. A flashback reveals that they really do love him, and Anastasia breaks down in tears when they had to give up Kevin's twin brother for adoption.
Candace has moments like this towards her brothers on Phineas And Ferb. In this case, though, the rivalry is only ever one-sided; Phineas and Ferb always have an upbeat and helpful attitude toward her.
Cree and Abigail Lincoln from Codename Kids Next Door have several of these moments. They might be arch-enemies, but they're also sisters.
In Hey Arnold, Helga usually ends up showing that she really does care about her Parody Sue older sister, Olga.
In one episode of Family Guy, Brian is replaced by "New Brian," and Stewie tries to convince him to come back.
Brian: You always said I was a douche.
Stewie: Yeah, but you're my douche.
Word Of God says that deep down, Dexter of Dexters Laboratory really does love his sister even though he'll never admit it. He has, on a couple of occasions successfully gotten Dee Dee out of his lab. Only to find that while the peace and quite may be nice at first, in the long run, he's absolutely miserable with out her. One point, when she was taken away by aliens, he was reduced to tears begging for her return.
In another episode where Dexter thought he was going to die, his parting gift to Dee Dee was to let her happily run wild in his lab.
Also when the two were auditioning to be Major Glory's sidekick, Deedee insulted Dexter and laughed at him for thinking he could ever win the title. When Deedee gets hurt by a gang of Glory's villains ambushing the audition Dexter went into a berserker rage and took out the whole gang single-handedly.
In Futurama episode "Zapp Dingbat", Leela is utterly disgusted when her mother starts a relationship with Zapp Brannigan and tries to break them up by proving that Zapp is a lecherous creep. However, he is in love with Munda, and resists Leela's lingerie-clad attempt to seduce him so he can propose. Before the wedding, he manages to offend Munda by being his usual General Failure self.
In My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Rarity and Applejack have very different personalities, and when the series started, couldn't stand one another. Even after they got over their initial dislike of one another, they were still very likely to snark or needle one another. Every so often, however, they'll stay or do something to show how much they care.
Applejack: But good things are better when they're a Rarity. *winks*
Rarity: Ooooh!
Real Life
Admit it, even YOU have had this relationship with someone.
Even the meanest, grumpiest male crocodile would soften up if you pair him with a female.
Unless one of them ate the other for dinner instead. In nature, male and female often only show interest in each other in that way at mating time, the rest of the time, it's just another rival/potential meal.
Dogs; if you own two or more, you'll often see them badgering each other, swiping their toys, chasing one another around and generally harassing one another back and forth. But if one is sick or injured, the others will stick by him or her and comfort them until they get better.
Cats as well, to a lesser extent. God help you if a door stands between a sick cat and her mother. Momma doesn't care that her baby is full grown now- she will make damn sure you let her in that room to look after her baby.
