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Interrupted Intimacy

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Interrupted Intimacy (trope)

"Should I explain to you the meaning of a closed door in a whorehouse?"
Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones

A couple is about to have sex, or are in the midst of the act, but another person interrupts somehow. They have to stop to deal with the interruption. This trope can be played for comedy, drama, or both. Can often lead to a Relationship Reveal. If they choose to keep going, it's Coitus Uninterruptus. If they try and keep things secret (if there is a knock on the door), it could lead to a Closet Shuffle. If the idea of the sexual encounter is that another person is there, that'll be Sex in a Shared Room. In a pornographic work, the interrupting person may join in.

A subtrope of Moment Killer. Often followed by a "Don't you people know how to knock?", because no one ever locks their door when they're getting intimate.

The best thing about Interrupted Intimacy is said to be that you can lose your virginity only once—but you can use Interrupted Intimacy many, many times.

Compare to Caught with Your Pants Down for the solo version of the trope, Chaos While They're Not Looking for the violent version, and Almost Kiss for a PG-rated version. A supertrope of Primal Scene, Bedroom Adultery Scene and Parents Walk In at the Worst Time. Sister Trope to Sorry to Interrupt.


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Examples

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    Anime and Manga 
  • In Boarding School Juliet. whenever Star-Crossed Lovers Romio and Juliet are on their own, they lean slightly on the Sickeningly Sweethearts (especially on Romio's part; Juliet is a lot more misgiving, although eventually she comes around). If someone catches them together, however, they put up the facade of being mortal enemies. As a Running Gag, this usually results in either of them inflicting Amusing Injuries on the other.
  • Cross Ange: In Episode 14 Tusk ends up getting to share his First Kiss with titular protagonist Ange in an abandoned hotel. But before they can potentially undress for Their First Time, they are interrupted by Kaname and Naga, Salamandinay's aides. After being captured, Ange declares the moment killed when Tusk tries to be intimate with her again.
  • In Fushigi Yuugi, Suboshi needs to talk to his boss Nakago and goes into his tent. Nakago is having sex with his and Suboshi's fellow Seiryuu Senshi Soi...
  • GTO: The Early Years: When the boys visit Abe in the hospital, they find he's not too injured to have sex with the nurse.
  • Lupin III: Given that they're both on Interpol's "Most Wanted" list and have numerous enemies, Lupin and Fujiko have had their romantic evenings ruined more than once:
    • The Secret of Twilight Gemini: About midway through the film, Sadachiyo and his men burst into their hotel room to assassinate Lupin, just as he and Fujiko were getting started. Which forced him to bail in his underwear and left Fujiko stark naked, with nothing but a bedsheet to defend herself!
    • The Columbus Files begins with them meeting over a candlelit dinner to discuss the contents of the stolen Columbus Egg, in Fujiko's possession. The discussion makes its way into the bedroom, where once again, they get interrupted just as they're about to shag. This time, by way of Macross Missile Massacre!
  • Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Tohru ends up barging in when Kanna and Saikawa were about to—in Kanna's words—"get closer". Did we forget to mention that Kanna and Saikawa are both in Elementary School?
  • My Wife is the Student Council President: Any time things start to heat up between Izumi and Ui, expect a third party to intervene before they have a chance to go all the way. In most cases, Rin is the culprit due to her own suppressed feelings for Izumi. Ui is keenly aware that Rin is her competition. So whenever Rin tries to seduce Izumi, Ui is the one who puts a stop to it.
  • In the manga version of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kaji and Misato had a heart-to-heart talk about their past and when they’re about to make out, Asuka barges in. Hilarity Ensues.
  • Phantom Quest Corp.: In incident file 03, Detective Karino drops by Mr. Nagasuki's office to question him, just as things were heating up between Nagasuki and his secretary! So when he opens the door, he gets an eyefull, though the audience doesn't get to see anything.
    [secretary screams from off camera]
    Mr. Nagasuki: [angrily at Karino] GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!
    Karino: [closes door, snickering] Hot action.
  • Invoked in School Days (adapting a possible event from the original visual novel). Sekai's friend Nanami Kanroji and her sempai/boyfriend try to get some "quality time" in the middle of a school festival, so they end up having sex in the rest area booth. They're not interrupted but they are filmed by Otome's Girl Posse, who are such nasty bitches that they show the tape to the whole school. The upperclassmen think this is funny, but poor Nanami has an Heroic BSoD.
    • Double invoked, as almost immediately afterwards, we see that Makoto was caught on tape too... having sex with Otome. And this is how Sekai learns that, after she and Makoto cheated on Kotonoha, she is now the one cheated on.
    • The first part is expanded on in other media (namely, the game's Updated Re-release), and it's even worse. One: Nanami and her boyfriend weren't filmed by Otome's Girl Posse, but by Nanami's sempai and rival Chie Ashikaga; she releases the video out of spite against her.. Two: we see that they're actually quite kinky in regards to sex (into master/servant, sex roleplaying, etc.) No wonder poor Nanami completely shut down: not only she and her boyfriend were caught doing the deed, but their kinks were exposed to everyone in the school.
  • Tales of Wedding Rings: Sato and Krystal, constantly. Every time they decide that yes, this time they're finally going to do it, they get interrupted. Either someone opens up a portal to another world (at which point they don't have time for sex) or a bunch of Date Peepers fall out of the closet (at which point they're not in the mood). For bonus points, everyone else wants Sato and Krystal to have sex for important magical reasons, they just have absolutely terrible luck. It ultimately takes hiding in a Pocket Dimension for them to finally have enough privacy to have Their First Time without someone bothering them.
  • Variable Geo: Reimi and her personal assistant, Washio, finally get some "alone time" halfway through episode 2, where they have a romantic rooftop tryst in her private rose garden. At least, until Chiho ruins it for her, by interrupting them during her escape attempt. Which annoys Reimi, sparking an improptu match between her and Chiho.
  • Happens near the beginning of Vitamin. The protagonist's boyfriend forces himself onto her while they're in school, and a classmate sees them.
  • Cowboy Bebop: in the episode "Jupiter Jazz", Faye bursts in on two guys in bed because one of them has some information she needs.

    Comedy 
  • Jeff Foxworthy relates this anecdote in the Games Rednecks Play section "I Love Being a Parent":
    Jeff Foxworthy: As a parent, when you have sex, your body emits a hormone that will drift down the hall into your child's room and make them want a drink of water. And if you are extremely lucky, they will call this order in. 'Cause there are few surprises in life to match looking your wife directly in the eye and feeling someone tickle the bottom of your foot. That's that they call a "show stopper" right there.

    Comic Books 
  • Angel Love of her eponymous series catches her next-door neighbor Everett and his girlfriend Lola smooching in the dark in her apartment twice in one issue.
  • Astro City:
    • At one point in "The Dark Age", two members of the Apollo Eleven are snuggling outdoors at a picnic, only to be interrupted by two of their teammates playing lawn darts very poorly.
      Strangeling: "So, it... the game is to try to hit our teammates?"
    • In "Things Past", Steeljack has a fit when he catches his two teenage groundskeepers making out at the Kiefer Square cemetery... behind his mother's gravesite.
  • Even when Bronson and Thaddeus are hooking up in Copperhead she can't turn off her situational awareness; she jumps up in time to take out one of the would-be ambushers before they reach her room.
  • In issue 2 of Friday The13th Pamelas Tale, Barry convinces Claudette to go off into the woods to have sex with him. The two are unaware that Jason had followed them. Barry and Claudette are also unaware that he's watching them making love on a log. Jason attacks Barry while he's mounted Claudette in a rear entry position. Jason attacks Barry by leaping on his back and begins pummeling him. Barry then puches Jason and throws him off the log in a rage. Barry apologizes to Jason and wanting him to stop. Barry can only watch helplessly when he fails to catch up with Jason and then helplessly watch him fall off the Crystal Lake dock, flail around and drown in the lake.
  • In The Golden Age, Joan Dale interrupts Lance Gallant and Paula Brooks' night alone together in order to show them Tex Thompson's Secret Diary.
  • Over the Garden Wall: Distillatoria has a weird scene where Greg accidentally walks in on his parents... except his parents are replaced by Jimmy Brown (who's still in his gorilla costume) and Miss Langtree from the episode "Schooltown Follies".
  • Poor Scott Pilgrim ends up walking in on Wallace having sex when he arrives home. Scott's face paints an absolute picture.
    "TURN OFF THE LIGHT!!!"
  • Alan Moore's Lost Girls:
    • The first two occasions Alice and Dorothy have sex are interrupted. The first time they're on opium and Alice is freaked out to see an image of the Caterpiller in Dorothy's vagina. The second time they do it outdoors, only to discover Wendy watching them, much to Alice's irritation.
    • Wendy recalls an occasion where she and Peter Pan had sex, only for The Captain to ejaculate all over her back.
  • Serenity: Leaves on the Wind:
    • In an apparent Mythology Gag to Kaylee's Backstory scene in the Firefly episode "Out of Gas", Mal calls down to the engine room to tell Kaylee to fire up the engines and catches her in the middle of having sex with Simon.
    • Had happened back in the first issue: when Zoe went into labor, Simon and Kaylee run into the infirmary while still getting dressed. Zoe did say that they're like a "couple of rabbits".
  • Spider-Man Noir: While raiding a speakeasy/brothel owned by Crime Master, Spider-Man forces the manager to give him a tour and winds up walking in on a man getting it on with some prostitutes, to his irritation. When the guy gets uppity, Spidey scares him off by threatening to introduce his wife to his girlfriends; a more serious threat than it sounds, as the hookers are black and the story takes place in 1930s America, where being in an interracial relationship could ruin your life.
  • Superman:
    • In The Jungle Line, Clark Kent's super-senses malfunctioning cause him to walk in on one couple making out in a storeroom.
    • In Time and Time Again, Jimmy Olsen's mother drops in on her son's date with Lucy Lane as the both of them were kissing each other.
  • The Internship: Occurs in Volume 4. The night after Andy and Cooper finally have sex with another, River and Fletcher are waiting the next morning at the latter’s filming site for Coop to show up, and neither one of them is very happy at his tardiness. Then River starts staring at Fletcher’s bod, and he decides to take the chance to have sex with them. They get all the way to River about to take Fletcher’s dick in their butt…only for River to admit that they’re a virgin. And then Coop shows up. Once again, neither River or Fletcher are happy to welcome him tidy. Fletcher gets over it fairly quickly, River not so much, becoming the most pissed they’ve ever been in the entirety of the series. It takes a very sincere confession of devotion from Coop to mellow River out so the two can work things out. Later, after their performance for Fletcher plays out successfully and Coop leaves, River tries to do it with their boss again. He then turns them down, saying he’s not up for taking their virginity. In other words, Coop interrupting them kinda delayed the inevitable.

    Comic Strips 
  • A mild version occurs in Calvin and Hobbes on Christmas Eve after the gifts have been wrapped, Calvin's been put to bed, and Mom and Dad are now cuddled up on the love seat in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace. They then note that with the chaos of the holidays, it's nice to have a little quiet time to reflect, only for Calvin to come in with a fire extinguisher and shout "WHAT'S THIS?! SANTA FLAMBÉ??"
  • What's New? with Phil and Dixie: Every time they attempt to deal with "Sex in D&D" during the Dragon era, something happens to interrupt it, since Dragon would never actually publish an actual strip on the subject. Finally subverted in the epilogue in the second graphic novel, where they actually cover the subject...and when sex in an actual D&D game happens, the DM describes a Sexy Discretion Shot.

    Fan Works 
  • Adventures of a Line Hopper: One of the incidents told in Riley Finn Doesn't Hate the Doctor is the Doctor telling Buffy that an invasion force is coming when she is just about to have sex with Riley. Buffy quickly gets dressed to follow him, while Riley once again tries to convince himself that he doesn't hate the Doctor for it.
  • Advice and Trust: In chapter 7, Shinji and Asuka enter Misato's apartment, talking about having a shower and intercourse right away when Kaji walks into them. Oops.
  • All Assorted Animorphs AUs: Rachel accidentally walks in on Jake and Cassie having sex in "What if they all went to college together postwar?". Jake hides under the bedsheets, while Cassie morphs into a squirrel.
  • Aylen: After Charles and Gabriel arrive at their vacation boarding house, they embrace each other on the bed in their room while the door was still open and are spotted by two other men right outside. Fortunately, these other two men, named Bernard and Arnold, are also a gay couple on vacation, and so they keep it to themselves and befriend Charles and Gabriel.
  • A Chance Meeting of Two Moons: The times that Luna walked in on a drunken Discord and Celestia, and Artemis walked in on a drunken Eris and Solaris.
  • A Crown of Stars: In chapter 65, Shinji and Asuka are in the middle of sex when Ching phones Asuka to remind them that they have to return to the stage shortly (appending a "Sorry because I guess what I am interrupting" comment).
  • The LDD-fanfic, Bridge to Terabithia 2: The Last Time, has this happening when Jess and Leslie, now in high school and in a romantic relationship, deciding to secretly kiss each other when Leslie came over to Jess' bedroom for a casual homework discussion. Unfortunately, Jess forgot to lock his door, and his little sister Maybelle just happens to barge in at the wrong time.
    Maybelle: [Suddenly Shouting] "MOM! DAD! JESS IS MAKING OUT WITH LESLIE IN HIS ROOM!!!"
  • In the Miraculous Ladybug fic, Caught by BullySquadess, Gabriel discovers Adrien and Marinette's relationship when actually walking in on them making love in Adrien's room. Seeing as he has official business to discuss with the both of them, he decides it's not every day he gets the chance to speak to them at the same time, considering their schedules, and just proceeds with the matter (after noting he'll probably need some aspirin and a gin later). It is as awkward as it sounds.
  • In chapter 19 of Children of an Elder God, Asuka and Shinji are about to have sex when an enemy attacks their Home Base. Shortly after they were making out in the locker rooms when Shinji's friend Touji suddenly entered, saw what they were doing and gagged.
  • Create Your Own Fate has a Running Gag about people being Kinda Busy Here. Kanril Eleya gets called to Hathon by Commander Jackson while in bed with Reshek Gaarra.
  • Downplayed in Chapter 10 of A Divine (Romantic) Comedy. Lucius Magne/Lucifer Morningstar and Camila Noceda are about to share a kiss on their second date, but Jacob Hopkins crashes through the window and starts threatening them with a cross and knife.
  • Domoverse: From "For Master (Part 1)": The titular Master is interrupted having VR sex with the protagonist:
    “Fucking Hell! Not now!” my Master screamed letting go of me so suddenly I fell forward
  • Empath: The Luckiest Smurf:
    • Empath in story "Days Of Auld Lang Smurf" interrupts Papa Smurf's private moment inside the Imaginarium with a recreated fantasy version of his wife just as they were about to kiss. Of course, Empath doesn't know that this is what Papa Smurf was doing with his time away from the other Smurfs until he saw Papa Smurf in a bathrobe emerging from a Smurf house.
    • Empath himself gets interrupted by Polaris Psyche as he is making out with Smurfette in private while under the influence of the probes in "Monkey On Your Smurf".
  • During Chapter 18 of God of War: Chains of the Heart, when Atreus goes to check in on Skjöldr, he winds up accidentally walking in on him and Thrúd while they're in the middle of having sex in a cave. Cue Atreus averting his eyes and running out of said cave while Skjöldr and Thrúd freak out and cover themselves, the latter threatening Atreus while doing so.
  • Guys Being Dudes: Candela and Blanche approach to introduce Rhi and question why Spark wasn't at the emergency meeting on Go Fest Day 2 while Spark and Arlo are making out. Invoked on Candela's part since it let them get in while the couple were distracted.
  • Happy End Of Evangelion: "You & Me" chapter provides a variant. Twenty-year-old Shinji and Asuka are having sex when suddenly Asuka remembers she hasn't finished a report which she is supposed to deliver today, so she springs from the bed to Shinji's immense disappointment.
  • In chapter 40 of Harry Potter And The Rune Stone Path, poor Harry Potter is made the subject of a Running Gag of accidentally witnessing other peoples' private time. First he interrupts a Primal Scene involving his adoptive mother and his birth mother entwined on the couch. He flees to the greenhouses, only to walk in on Neville Longbottom's threesome with Hannah and Susan. Harry flees out of the greenhouses and into the Room of Requirement, only to catch Tonks and Fleur in bed together.
    Harry: Why does this keep happening to me?
  • In chapter 24 of The Herald and Her Knight, LSTR-827 walks into the Penrose's mess hall just as Ariane Yeong and Elster are starting to get frisky on a table. This accidental intrusion embarrasses all three of them and kills the mood.
  • Higher Learning (Strike-Fiss): In chapter 16 Shinji and Asuka are about to have sex in the tube... and Misato comes home right when Shinji is about to enter the bathroom, leading both teenagers to hurriedly pretend that nothing was happening.
  • In Hotspring Souls! Chapter 4 (which shares its title with the trope name) the Hunter and the Doll experience this thanks to their roommates Artorias and Ciaran's loud, ungodly moaning preventing the couple from getting it on themselves.
  • In the House/CSI crossover "I Want To Ride It All Night Long", House and Wilson's threesome with Catherine Willows gets interrupted because she's called out on a murder case.
  • In How the Light Gets In, Thea walks in on Dean and Laurel right when he's about to go down on her. Given that they're both a Parental Substitute to her, its even worse.
    Thea: I can't unsee that. My entire life flashed before my eyes. Why does this always happen to me?
    Dean: Because you don't—wait, always? How many times have you walked in on people having sex?
  • In Ice and Fire, Lelouch gives Suzaku a phone call, not knowing that he's having sex with Euphemia at the time. Needless to say, neither the Honorary Britannian nor the Third Princess are happy.
  • The Infinite Loops love to play this for laughs. Taken to an extreme where five separate people walk in on Spike and Rarity, apparently during the same loop, and react completely differently to the situation.
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers fanfic Kimyōna, Komisch, Caldo, a sequel to Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità: Let's just say Kugelmugel interrupted an *ahem* intimate moment Germany, Italy, and Japan were sharing.
    "Oh. Right there. RIGHT THERE!" What sounded like moans and groans in three different pitches could be heard—somehow over the deafening crashes—from the closed door as the boy reached it. Sadly, said boy could not get in due to said door being locked. Just what could they be doing?! Something that young children should never find out.
    Not that he cared. "Open up! OPEN UP!"
    "SCHEIßE!"
    "SHIMATTA!"
    "ACCIDENTI!"
    What seemed to be a wet plopping noise resounded in response to the rapid knocking and insistent rattling of the locked doorknob, what sounded like sheets being removed, spray being frantically spritzed, clothes being rapidly put back on, sheets being put back on, and so on and so on following seconds later.
  • A Monster's Marriage: In A Monster's Family, while Jaune and Cinder are sexy role-playing, their daughter, Ember, interrupts them before they can continue. Little Ember seems to have had a nightmare and her sister scares her by telling her that the bogeyman lives under her bed, so she needs her parents to help her sleep.
  • My Immortal. When Draco and Ebony have sex in the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore barges in out of nowhere, yelling "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU MOTHERFUKERS!"
  • In Now Kiss by KrazyKyStaHatter, Gabriel walks in on Adrien and Marinette while they are on the floor, making out heavily. Seeing as he was one of the people playing The Matchmaker for them, he merely informs them, with his usual The Stoic attitude, that with the success of their last photoshoot together, they are going to have a few more, wishes Adrien a happy birthday and leaves.
  • Hands (OMORI): A dark example that happens to Mari twice as she is about to molest her little brother Sunny- once by Basil concerned about Sunny, and once by Kel looking to surprise the siblings. Naturally, Sunny is grateful for being saved.
  • One Big Happy Family:: In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko interrupted what was heavily implied to be Sokka and Suki's Their First Time. In the fic, after becoming Fire Lord, Zuko drafts letters of apology to all the leaders of the various nations and city-states. The one Suki gets mentions this event.
    Suki: Zuko, that was unnecessary.
    Zuko: What was?
    Suki: You know good and well what. That wasn't even an offense toward my village, it was personal, and an accident!
    Zuko: You're the head authority in the village. And accident or not, interfering with an international union effort—
    Sokka: Please don't call it that.
    Suki: Just... Alright, apology accepted, now never mention it again.
  • Patchwork (FFVII):
    • Just as Aerith and Sephiroth are experimenting to find out if they're ready to get intimate, their son Briar wakes up and demands attention. This becomes a pattern that frustrates both of them to the point they decide to give him to Cloud and Tifa for a weekend and go spend that time for themselves.
    • Another time when Elmyra has Briar, Aerith decides she wants to be dominant, but right as she has ordered Sephiroth onto the bed and gotten on top of him...she leans over the bed and throws up. Elmyra finds them in the morning huddled in bed with the virus they caught from Briar.
  • The Raven's Plan: Tyrion and co., after confirming that the plan has gone to hell, burst into Kevan's room to see if he Remembers... and interrupt him while he's in the middle of screwing his wife Dorna.
  • In Robb Returns, this is how Jaime and Cersei Lannister get caught, finally revealing and making public their incestuous relationship.
  • In the "Raise" chapter of The Second Try, Shinji and Asuka are about to make love at night when their daughter Aki opens their bedroom’s door. They stop instantly.
  • Shatterheart:
    • Kurogane and Syaoran share a tender moment when they decide to rekindle their relationship and kiss. Then Fai walks in on them without understanding the context.
    • Invoked by Syaoran when a nosy healer interrupts his reunion with Kurogane. He decides to mess with both of them by undressing and giving Kurogane a passionate embrace to make the healer think she interrupted much worse.
  • In the Miraculous Ladybug story A Small but Stubborn Fire, a brief interruption when Sabine and Tom are getting very intimate in chapter five until they hear some loud thumping coming from Marinette's room and, out of worry, Tom goes to check up on their daughter before returning and reassuring Sabine it was nothing to worry about and they continue where they left off.
  • In the Marvel Cinematic Universe fic Snapped Strings, Steve and Sharon have a kiss and are about to take things further when they're interrupted by Natasha, Wanda, and Sam. Natasha places a hand over Wanda's eyes and teasingly tells the couple to keep things PG-13.
  • This trope probably scars Kagami for life in Stars Above when she accidentally walks in on Tsukasa and Miyuki.
  • In the Star Trek: Lower Decks fic "Stay With Me", after Mariner starts kissing Boimler when he regains consciousness in sickbay after serious injuries, they're forced to part when Doctor T'ana throws a shoe at Mariner so that she can continue to operate on Boimer;
    T'Ana: I cannot believe I have to say this, but do not french patients when they are on the operating table!
  • In the Firefly fic Sweeter Things, Wash and Zoe can’t get time alone for their anniversary because Mal and other things keep interrupting them. Inara eventually gets on Mal about it and he makes it up to them.
  • In Thousand Shinji, it happens to Shinji and Asuka several times. They're making out, Misato arrives all of sudden, and they have to stop and pretend that they weren't doing anything... The first time happened in chapter 8, shortly after their Relationship Upgrade.
  • Played for Laughs in the appropriately titled, This Closet's Lock is Broken, when Soifon accidentally bursts in on Yoruichi while she's having sex... with a mod soul designed to look and act like her!(both are girls)
  • In these Totally Spies! stories by DragonShadow:
    • In A Liar's Lament, while being bodyguards, Sam and Clover accidentally walk in on a diplomat and his mistress getting it on in a basement bedroom.
    • In Chapter 14 of Starlight Starbright, Clover accidentally walks in on Mandy and Brittany about to get it on.
      Mandy: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT A DOOR IS FOR? YOU KNOCK ON IT! LIKE THIS!
  • White Sheep (RWBY): Yang forces her mother to make a portal to her Uncle Qrow; Yang pops out to find Qrow in the middle of having sex with Coral. Jaune and the others hear the screams and come running, which results in everyone discovering that Coral is Jaune's sister. Coral is perfectly willing to keep going once everyone leaves, but since Qrow mistakenly believes Jaune is his nephew, that would mean Coral is his niece. He jumps out the window naked and screaming.
  • In Wordsmith Hermione keeps doing this to Harry and Ginny by showing up unannounced to complain about her failed dates. Harry's usual response is that sex is a good thing and she should go have some. When he does it to Hermione and Justin because he wants to complain about having a fight with Ginny Hermione tells him to take his own advice.
  • A Well-Intentioned Blocking has this played for laughs with Jin Zixun and Nie Huaisang. Seeing as they are having a tryst outside while engaging in some of their more unconventional fantasies, the fact that they're interrupted isn't as surprising as some examples. The fact that they are interrupted by Huaisang's extremely protective brother wasn't guaranteed, however...
  • What Leads You Here: Keitaro and Natsuno have just had their Big Damn Kiss and are about to get frisky late at night in the facility cafeteria... and then the others girls come shouting down the hall to take a snack break after a movie, and the two quickly cover themselves back up before anyone notices.
  • With Pearl and Ruby Glowing:
    • A Running Gag in the side story "Sex and Silliness" is people walking in on sexual situations. One stand-out case is Gromit walking in on his parents Wallace and Wilhelmina in BDSM gear.
    • In "Good Neighbours", Mulmangcho repeatedly insists that Red and Blue didn't kill Gloria because they have an "airtight alibi". He refuses to reveal exactly what it is, but a later chapter implies he walked in on Blue going down on Red.
  • The Wrong Reflection has Fleet Admiral Riker call up Eleya to give her some info and orders right when she and her boyfriend are in the middle of foreplay.

    Literature 
  • Able Team. In "Death Strike", Carl Lyons has been captured by the Unomondo organisation. When Gadgets and the Politician turn up to rescue him, thinking he's being horribly tortured, they find Lyons having sex with a nurse up against a door which his friends happen to open, causing her to knock herself out on the floor. In fairness Lyons had been tortured, but they'd just switched to more subtle forms of interrogation and control; whatever quips Gadgets and the Politician plan on making are interrupted when Lyons indicates he has a remote-controlled bomb implanted inside him.
  • In Always Coming Home, Stone Telling describes how she traveled to another town in her childhood. Her cousins there tended to have fun at night by interrupting amorous teens.
  • Are You Alone on Purpose?: Harry and Alison are having their First Kiss when Harry's father, Rabbi Roth, walks in. After Alison leaves, Rabbi Roth spends the next day avoiding the subject until after Adam's bar mitzvah, when Harry confronts him about his lack of interest in his life.
  • Ascendance of a Bookworm: When Ferdinand and Rozemyne visit Brother Egmont unannounced after suspecting him of foul play near the end of Part 4, he's found in the middle of "something indecent" with one of his gray (servant) shrine maidens.
  • In Banco, Carotte, an Ace Pilot, is furious when the owner of a brothel tosses them out for selling clothing to his whores, so he promises to return by air since the pimp can't prevent them from doing so. The next day he and Papillon dive bomb the brothel so low that the cheap metal roofing flies off the building; exposing whores and their clients who scramble around while the plane orbits, Papillon and Carotte laughing their asses off.
  • Between Worlds trilogy
    • In the second novel, Space Marine Jason Linford is in the middle of seducing a shy Shil'vati engineer when the ship goes to Red Alert because someone has just fired on them. In the subsequent battle Jason busts up a Mini-Mecha the engineer built as a hobby, so at the end of the novel she demands recompense—which turns out to be taking up where they left off.
    • In the third novel a female human marine walks in on Jason having a quickie with Cat Girl Yaro when they should both be on duty. She's not amused because she didn't even know they were dating, plus she gets 'splattered' when her arrival causes Jason to pull out prematurely.
  • Briar Girls: Lena is making out with Miranda, while they appear intent on having sex, when they get interrupted by a knock at the door.
  • In Chrono Hustle #5, Jack and Sesla are in the middle of sex when TRD agents teleport in to arrest him. Sesla is annoyed that they couldn't have waited a few more minutes.
  • In The City Who Fought, Channa and Amos use camera-blanking devices to try and have sex without Simeon watching. Resentful and jealous, Simeon discovers that he can still tap into Channa's implants to see and hear what she does and announces this in triumph. Naturally this ruins the mood and genuinely, strongly upsets Amos, especially when preteen Joat walks in on him yelling and admires his butt.
  • A Darker Shade of Magic: Kell and Lila have their intimate make-out session at sea interrupted when, in their enthusiasm, they disturb the ship enough to dump water all over Alucard and he is none too happy.
    Alucard: Stop fucking with the ship.
  • Deathlands. In "Ice and Fire", Doc Tanner's sometime girlfriend, Lori Quint, sneaks off to have sex with the much younger Joshua Mote. Doc and Ryan Cawdor go looking for Lori and catch them having sex in the church of the local snake cult. Unfortunately this causes an exchange of insults during which Lori mentions they killed one of the giant snakes worshipped by the cult.
  • In Dream of the Red Chamber, Baoyu catches his friend Qin Zhong in the middle of a tryst with a Naughty Nun. He actually waits outside until Qin Zhong is at the brink of orgasm, then bursts in and scares the bejeezus out of them. It's implied that he then picks up where the girl left off. The fallout from this event partially causes Qin Zhong's death.
  • The Dresden Files: Near the end of White Night, Harry pays a visit to Marcone and finds Helen Beckitt on his lap, their clothing disheveled.
    I cursed my timing. If I'd come ten minutes later, I'd have opened the door in medias res. It would have been infinitely more awkward.
  • The Empirium Trilogy: Rielle and Audric are about to go all the way when Ludivine's father walks in on them.
  • This happens to Felix in The Two Crowns of Ras Karim, one of Gotrek & Felix short stories. As usual, Gotrek is to blame.
  • In a chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ginny leads Harry to her bedroom (with the door closed) to give him a birthday present to "remember her by", and they begin to kiss very passionately, but are interrupted by Ron barging into the room. There are many stories that speculate that, had Ron not interrupted, Harry and Ginny would have had sex.
  • Her Spell That Binds Me: Iona happens upon Ariadne having sex with Nanet and Gisela in the library.
  • A major plot point in Philip Roth's Indignation: Marcus receives a hand job from his girlfriend Olivia while recovering from surgery in a hospital...and the nurse walks in on them just as Marcus climaxes. Since this is The '50s, once word gets back to the college dean, the event ruins both of their lives (and indirectly causes Marcus to be killed, as he's drafted into the Army and dies fighting in Korea after his expulsion).
  • Kasshoku Musume no Latina-san ni Ore no Karada ga Nerawareteiru:
    • Latina undresses Makoto and herself right in the middle of the street for some babymaking. However, they are caught by the police and sent to the police station.
    • Next morning, she attempts it again in the classroom, only to be interrupted by Katagiri.
    • In chapter 7, Makoto and Latina are alone in his room when she wants to get paid in advance for helping him with the homework using her body. She gets stark naked and tries to have her way with him. Makoto notices Katagiri coming to the room, so he makes do with hiding Latina under the desk.
  • Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson: In one of the framing stories, Maureen appears to tell of her latest adventure to her old friend Bitsy. Bitsy, however, has just gotten married, and is the bathroom getting ready for her wedding night. The chaos of Maureen's abrupt arrival prevents anything from happening that night.
  • Captain Armand Pahner walks in on two of his sergeants (Eva and Julian) in the Prince Roger series. Additionally, Julian deliberately arranges for this to happen to Roger and Despreaux on multiple occasions. By monitoring the biometrics in her combat suit (specifically pulse and blood pressure) he can tell when they are arguing and when they... aren't.
  • Shadows of the Empire: Played for Drama, when Xizor is kissing Leia then moving toward sex with her when Chewie interrupts them. Since this is basically date rape given his pheromones affect her so strongly Leia can't resist, it's all to the best.
  • Slow Life in Another World (I Wish!): Itsuki and Wendy have other characters barge in on them nearly having sex a couple of times: first in the bath when Aina and Solte come in just as their Furo Scene moves towards kissing, then a few days later when she joins him in his bedroom and they're interrupted by a half-awake Shiro going to the wrong door looking for the bathroom.
  • A Song of Ice and Fire:
    • A large portion of the drama is sparked by Bran seeing Cersei and Jamie Lannister having sex. Not only is this an act of Twincest, it's also an act of treason as Cersei is the Queen (thus throwing the parentage of the royal children into doubt). Bran is shoved out the window by Jaime in an effort to ensure his silence.
    • The trope is Played for Laughs several novels later when Jaime barges into Lord Bracken's tent unannounced, to find him screwing a Camp Follower.
      Bracken: I fear I did not hear your coming, my lord.
      Jaime: And I fear I've interrupted yours.
  • In Stim, Robert goes out to dinner with Chloe. He realizes he forgot his wallet, so he runs back to get it. When he arrives, he finds Stef having sex in the living room with her boyfriend Jeff. Jeff yells at Robert, accuses him of being a pervert, and calls him a retard, then shoves him and kicks him. Stef dumps Jeff for being so nasty to Robert over something that wasn't his fault.
  • In The Sword Catcher, Antonetta walks in on Kel and Silla about to have sex to inform him that Conor is in danger.
  • In Things I Should Have Known, Chloe and James are making out on the couch when Chloe's sister Ivy walks in and turns on the light, startling Chloe so much she falls off the couch.
  • The Vazula Chronicles: In A Kingdom Discovered, Heath and Merletta are about to share their First Kiss on the beach of Vazula when the dragon Rekavidur tells them he senses that Heath's brother Percival is in danger. Heath and Merletta still share a kiss before he and Reka fly to Percival's aid, but it's a much quicker one than it would have been.
  • In Wolf Hall, Thomas Cromwell calls for Helen Barre, a woman of his household, to go with him quickly and secretly to help Archbishop Cranmer's secret and pregnant wife. She appears tucking her hair under her cap and Rafe Sadler, whose hair is also rather disheveled, angrily protests her being abruptly dragged off. Cromwell is so preoccupied he completely misses the significance of this until six months later when Rafe confesses that they're married and Helen is pregnant, and he finally puts two and two together.

    Music 
  • Happens in the Warrant song "Cherry Pie":
    Swingin' so hard
    We forgot to lock the door!
    In walks her daddy
    Standin' six foot four!
    He said "you ain't gonna swing
    With my daughter no more"!
  • Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" has the same thing happen (in this case the girl's mother interrupts them), but with more benign results:
    I didn't know what to say; I was hanging by a string
    She said "Hey, you two, I was once like you and I like(d?) to do the Wild Thing."
  • From the Bat Out Of Hell album by Meat Loaf, the two characters in the song are making out heavy and hard in the front seat of the car. Things are progressing until she yells out "STOP RIGHT THERE!" and demands her boyfriend pledge his completel fidelity to her before they go any further.

    Roleplay 
  • In The Dao of the Awakened, one task given to Hua Yin has him retrieving a library book on Sex Magic. As he walks in, the Disciple in question appears to be practicing the technique.

    Stand-Up Comedy 
  • From the Cheech & Chong album Los Cochinos, Man in "Pedro And Man At The Drive-Inn" goes over to the next car over in order to get something to open the trunk with, only to find a guy making out with a girl inside the car. Not that it interrupts the activity going on, though, as the guy gives Man something and then just continues on without breaking the flow.

    Tabletop Games 
  • Invoked in Teenagers from Outer Space. The referee is explicitly instructed to use every variant of this trope they can think of in the event of two PCs (or a PC and an NPC) trying to have sex. Why? Rule of Funny. Two people having sex is dramatic, boring, and awkward. Two people trying desperately to have sex, only to be thwarted by spaceship accidents, alien control officers, and unexpected surprise parties is hilarious.

    Theatre 

    Video Games 
  • Baldur's Gate III: The player can discover a male bugbear and a female ogre having sex in a barn. They don't appreciate your intrusion and tell you to get lost: if you ignore their warnings and open the barn door, they will attack you. A Barbarian or a Bard can pass a skill check to get them to leave nonviolently.
  • Cyberpunk 2077: If on Panam's romance path she and V consumate their relationship while test driving the war machine they stole. Literally as they...finish...the Wraiths road gang attacks both them and Panem's clan. If the player doesn't go into the inventory to re-equip during the ensuing fight they will be piloting the entire battle naked.
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition: In the Iron Bull romance path, Cullen walks in on the Player Character and Iron Bull while the latter is quite casually naked in bed. Played for Laughs when the rest of the party follows him in; for drama if the Player Character tries to brush it off, which prompts Iron Bull to end their relationship on the spot; or for heartwarming, if the Player Character confirms their Relationship Upgrade.
    Cullen: I-I-I am so... sorry.
    Josephine: I cannot move my legs.
    Cassandra: Is something the matt-augh!
    Iron Bull: Oh, for fuck's sake.
  • Love of Magic: Several times.
    • Owyn and Emily, when arriving back at the Crowley after Emily's rescue. They've been talking about the "rewards" Emily wishes to give her husband, only to get to the pub and find Owyn's mother Jannice waiting.
    • Later turned about when Owyn returns to the Crowley to find Chloe and Jannice making out.
    • Still later, Jannice can walk in to find Chloe giving Owyn a blowjob, which is how Jannice discovers just how open Owyn and Emily's relationship is.
  • G-rated example in Pokémon Gold and Silver. When you first enter Misty's gym, nobody is there, requiring you to find her and interrupt her date. Her boyfriend runs away when you approach, and you can then challenge the gym.
  • Red Dead Redemption: At the beginning of "The Gates of El Presidio", John Marston goes into one room and finds Abraham Reyes having sex with a peasant girl, with some Spanish talk and the girl's moaning of "VIVA MEXICOOOOOO!" Even John seems so confused about this when he catches them in the act and Reyes dismisses her.
  • Red Dead Redemption 2: During "A Quiet Time", Arthur Morgan can open the door to Room 1A while drunk and see a couple having sex with each other in bed before they start screaming, leading him to close the door and chuckle. Later, when Arthur gets so drunk that almost everyone looks like Lenny Summers, he can get to Room 1A again to "Catch Lenny in the act", only this time, when he sees the Lenny couple, he'll run off screaming and Hilarity Ensues.
    • There's a random event in Valentine where you can stumble into being The Peeping Tom. There's a man lying on the bed being spanked by a woman. If he sees you, he'll tell you he'll kill you if he sees you.
    • A variant on the above is a couple lying in bed in their underwear but high as a kite. They try to have sex but are too stoned to do it. The husband just ends up passing out on his wife.
  • The Wolf Among Us: While investigating the Open Arms motel, Bigby can accidentally walk in on a couple having comically loud sex, causing Beauty (who's showing him around) to grouse that he's gonna get her fired if he keeps it up.
  • Yes, Your Grace: At some point, King Erik and his wife Aurelea are very obviously trying to produce a male heir behind the closed curtains of their canopy bed. Two of their daughters show up because of prank played by the older on the younger one. The single bump behind the curtains separates into two distinct figures, parenting happens, and the daughters leave the room. Eryk then quips that this is the reason he doesn't have a heir yet.

    Visual Novels 
  • Played for Laughs in Katawa Shoujo. In Emi's route, at one point Rin walks in on her and Hisao right after the end of their first sex scene, requesting to use Emi's window to look at a specific cloud. She doesn't appear to notice that Hisao and Emi are both half-dressed (Hisao is topless, and Emi is down to her panties), and leaves when Emi politely asks her for some alone time.
  • Subverted in School Days. Kotonoha comes to Makoto's house while Makoto and Sekai are having sex and walks in on them. At first it seems like she caught them in the act, but then it's revealed that Makoto invited her there for a threesome.
    • As said above, a similar scene on a different route plays the trope straight, and leads directly to a bad ending.

    Webcomics 

    Web Original 
  • This Funny or Die video concerns a couple trying to have sex, only for the cat to keep getting in the way.
  • Nightmare Time: In the episode "Abstinence Camp," Stephanie and Pete are about to shower in the same stall, in order to test the rumors of a sex-hating axe murderer, when they are interrupted by their camp counselors.
  • Red vs. Blue had a self-inflicted case. Tucker and Sister time travel to confirm whether or not they had sex back when they first met. And while they watch their past selves through foreplay, Sister gets turned on, and Tucker's loud response to "You wanna mess around?" scares his past self, who abandons the incoming coitus to search for who was there.

    Western Animation 
  • On Archer Lana dumps Cyril after walking in on him having sex with Framboise from ODIN.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender has an instance in which Zuko runs into Suki, who is nervously walking towards Sokka's tent. He asks if she needs to talk to Sokka, too. She declines. Upon entering the tent, Zuko sees Sokka... lying on the floor of the tent with a rose in his mouth. After he realizes that it's Zuko rather than Suki who entered the tent, he nervously sits up and speaks to Zuko. Given that he calls for Suki the moment Zuko exits and that upon the next morning, Sokka is seen wearing the Lei that Suki was wearing the previous night, they eventually got around to it.
  • Drawn Together: Near the end of "Clum Babies", Larry The Cucumber barges into a bedroom where Ling-Ling and Ni-Pul are getting it on, to shoot them during his rampage.
  • A variation occurs in the Family Guy episode "Go, Stewie, Go!", when Lois tries to sexually assault Meg's new boyfriend just as Meg enters.
    Lois: Um... Rape? (cue Seinfeld bass sting)
  • Futurama: The premise of the episode "Fry and Leela's Big Fling". Fry and Leela are trying their hardest to have intimate time but keep being interrupted.
  • In this famous scene from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Cobra Commander catches Destro and the Baroness kissing!
  • Invincible: In 'Neil Armstrong, Eat Your Heart Out', upon returning from Mars, Mark comes home to mysterious sounds emenating from inside his house. He prepares for a fight and bursts in, only to find his mother and father sitting comfortably in the middle of a destroyed living room. Super-Speed probably had something to help with speedy redressing.
  • The Modifyers: Zig-Zagged in the unofficial parody. Just as Baron Vain has gotten off from dry humping Lacey, Rat fishes for a compliment for capturing her and bringing her to him. Vain and Lacey (who'd just begun to get into it) become mildly annoyed, before Vain decks him for interrupting them. And with that out of the way, he screws Lacey senseless.
  • Twilight of the Gods: Egill is having Three-Way Sex with a man and woman when he's introduced and they get interrupted.
  • In one episode of The Venture Bros., Rusty is searching for a piece of a Dismantled MacGuffin in his brother's lab, only to be noticed by a woman his brother was spending some... quality time with.

Alternative Title(s): Coitus Interruptus

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Athena and Bobby Roleplaying

May walks in on her mother and stepfather who are "experimenting."

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