The Pleasure of the Non-Canon Couples

In relation to my post on Votaries about Ichabod Crane, I attempted to come up with a romance novel where the central romance is described by someone on the side. 

I used this approach in my tribute to Northanger Abbey. Henry and Catherine's romance is told by a bemused god of love, Ven, the male version of Venus. I chose this approach in part because it is the approach used by Austen: an acerbic semi-omniscient narrator writes about the vagaries of love and Gothic literature. 

However, such an approach isn't that common. Austen's other novels invest far more in the limited perspectives of her main characters. 

But the idea got me thinking of the romances that people love despite those romances NOT being the primary focus of a book/ show. For instance, I far prefer Monica and Chandler to Ross & Rachel in Friends. I know fans of Luke and Grace from Joan of Arcadia. And I've always considered Ryan's marriage on Castle (to his real life wife, Juliana, character name Jenny) to be one of the sweetest on record. 

These romances, in my opinion, are often used to satisfy viewers who are getting restless about the main relationship never being consummated (storytelling-wise). 

But I also think that sometimes the freedom of these non-canon or non-required marriages allow the writers more scope and insight. The non-canon couples ARE more fun than the central couples.

For the sake of comparison, I tried to think of "side" couples from manga and realized...

They often end up with their own series!