Basic Trope: Two characters hook up, but the next morning, one leaves.
- Straight: Alice and Bob sleep together. The next morning, Alice is alone in the bed.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob has actually left the country.
- When Alice wakes up not only is Bob gone, but his housekeeper rudely kicks her out.
- Downplayed: When Alice wakes up, Bob is in his study.
- Justified:
- Bob had to get up to go to work.
- Bob never meant to sleep with Alice; it was just a lapse in judgment brought on by a few too many drinks.
- Bob had a serious operation he was supposed to undergo that day and the two broke his alarm clock during their romp.
- The encounter was only meant to be a one-night stand, not to segue into a meaningful relationship.
- It wasn't consensual; Bob drugged Alice's drink at a frat party and took advantage of her.
- Alice is a prostitute that Bob hired for the night, or for part of it.
- Alice and/or Bob feel that spending the whole night is OK for a real couple, but not appropriate for a one-night stand or mere Friends with Benefits.
- Bob does not want to embarrass Alice in front of her roommates.
- Bob is married, by leaving his partners in the middle of then night he technically isn't sleeping with anyone.
- Inverted:
- Alice and Bob wake up together, and decide that they are in love and will become an Official Couple.
- Alice wakes up after having a one-night-stand with Bob, and she's really surprised when she finds out that he stayed the morning after it, and cooked breakfast for two!
- Subverted:
- Alice wakes up alone, but hears the shower running.
- Bob returns with Breakfast in Bed.
- Bob left a note or a text message for Alice.
- Bob promises to call Alice later.
- Bob stays in bed with Alice.
- Alice appears wake up alone, but the camera pans across the bed to show Bob by her side.
- Alice and Bob go out to the local Greasy Spoon for breakfast.
- Double Subverted:
- The person who gets out of the shower is Bob's roommate.
- Alice and Bob talk about where this might be going, and they are not on the same page. Although Alice was hoping for a Relationship Upgrade, Bob only wanted sex. He just doesn't want Alice to feel "cheap."
- The note says thanks for a good time, and that Alice can help herself to food in the fridge, or that he left cab money for her, but nothing about becoming a couple.
- He never does.
- But he is answering text messages, not paying attention to her.
- Over breakfast, they decide this isn't going to work out, and go their separate ways afterwards.
- Parodied: Alice spends the night at Bob's then wakes up in his bed, alone, but Bob and the rest of his belongings, house and car included, are gone.
- Zig Zagged: The next morning, Bob is just outside the room, texting his boss that he's taking the day off and his best friend for advice on whether to just leave or bring coffee back, because while he didn't mean to sleep with Alice, he certainly isn't objecting to the idea of a relationship.
- Averted:
- Alice and Bob have sex, and the next morning, they are an Official Couple.
- Alice and Bob don't have sex.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked:
- Bob sleeps with Alice, but wakes up the next morning kind of disappointed that she isn't as glamorous now as he thought she was last night.
- Somebody calls Bob's cell phone.
- Exploited: Alice is an Ethical Slut and expected him to leave.
- Defied:
- Bob decides it would be callous to just leave her, and even that he likes her (or at least the sex), so he stays with her.
- Bob lets it go to voicemail so he can snuggle with Alice.
- Discussed: "What, are you just going to keep sleeping with women and leaving before they wake up?"
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed: Bob has a reputation as a callous womanizer and serious emotional attachment issues because of his habit of doing and dashing.
- Reconstructed: Alice helps him work through the issues and grow as a person.
- Played For Laughs: Alice gets Sex Dressed in the skimpy dress she wore last night and does the "walk of shame" past conservatively-dressed churchgoers.
Well, I had a great time with you last night, but I have to go back to Not Staying for Breakfast...I'll call you later.
