I’m trying to write something in which this situation occurs, but I think a little reference material would be helpful. Only… I can’t think of any. Like at all.
Specifically, I’m looking for stories in which a character is absolutely besotted with another character, who is or becomes aware of the other character’s feelings. The object of affection initially declines a romance with the admirer, but later, comes to return the feelings. (Whether or not the two actually get together is of no consequence to me.)
I know it’s not that uncommon a theme; I just cannot for the life of me remember where I’ve seen it. Can anyone help? Movies, books, TV shows, cartoons, anime, anything is fine.
When “Harry Met Sally” might fit the bill. As I recall, one little caption says “Five Years Later…” before their relation changes. Sheesh! Life’s too short to throw away five years!
Bodice-ripper romance novels (The Flame and The Flower, The Wolf and The Dove, et. al.) are full of this sort of thing, although the mutual acknowledgment of affection is preceded by antagonism, not unlike Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.
OK, Darcy didn’t abduct Elizabeth as a spoil of war and repeatedly ravish her. Minor detail.
Kurt Vonnegut’s “Long Walk to Forever” in the collection Welcome To The Monkey House would work (as would “Who Am I This Time?”, but I suspect that is not what you are looking for.)
The ex and I argued about this. At the end, it says something about Pip seeing no shadow of their parting. She assumed they ended up together; I thought it just meant that they would stay friends.
Footlight Parade, for instance, has Joan Blondell in love with Jimmy Cagney, something he doesn’t realize until the end of the movie.
The great Bringing Up Baby shows Katherine Hepburn with an unrequited crush on Cary Grant, who is engaged to marry someone else. Eventually, they get together.
Peter Bogdonovich’s semi-remake, What’s Up, Doc has the same triangle with Barbra Streisand in love with Ryan O’Neal, who’s engaged to Madeline Kahn.
There’s a manga (that I doubt has been or will ever be translated) about a young man who starts working at a horse ranch because he likes one of the owner’s daughters. After a year or something, she starts to return his feelings. This takes about 12 books in the series, but pretty much as soon as the love is requited, the two of them have unprotected sex and the girl gets knocked up. So the last 12 or so books of the series are about them trying to start out as a pair of young, uneducated parents. It was a doozy of a changeover in tone for the series. You essentially had to read it as two entirely separate stories.
