History Main / MistakenForFlirting

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E15Destiny Destiny]]", while O'Brien collaborates with a group of Cardassian scientists, one of them mistakes his belligerence for flirting, as that's how Cardassian customs work. He's a married man and not a fan of Cardassians due to a previous war. But he does later reconcile with her and says that they can be friends and that he respects her as a professional.

* ''Manga/BloomIntoYou''. A case of accidental flirting between people who are actually interested in each other. Touko shows up at Yuu's bookstore to buy a book from her. She chooses a lesbian romance novel with explicit scenes. Yuu assumes that Touko, who has already kissed her once, is trolling her, and doesn't react to avoid playing into her [[TheGadfly Gadfly]] tendencies. Except it turns out Touko didn't realize what she'd picked up until she got home, and apologizes profusely the next day.
* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'': After their class changes seats, Ichikawa tries to come up with a way to tell Yamada that she was blocking his view of the blackboard [[HugeSchoolgirl without bringing up her height]]. He starts with "I could only see you", [[ClingyJealousGirl right while Yamada was moping about him taking notes from Hara.]] [[ThatCameOutWrong Ichikawa cuts himself off from the rest of his explanation and realizes exactly what he just said when he sees Yamada's reaction.]]

* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': Played for drama in "Shining Armor", as Irene Merriweather (an {{Expy}} of Lois Lane) misinterprets [[TheCape Atomicus']] hesitation about their relationship as a hint that she had to prove herself worthy to him. In actuality, he's ''scared'' of relationships since he was ReallyWasBornYesterday, and her efforts only make things worse...

* In the [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes Dr. Watson]] at War series by Robert Ryan, Dr. Watson asks an overworked voluntary nurse with an eye infection when she last had time off. She says they're not allowed to fraternize with doctors. Watson (who's rather overworked himself) [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness snaps at her]] that he's not asking her out for a dance; he's telling her to get some rest.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': In [[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E07Exogenesis "Exogenesis"]], Ivanova invites Lt. Corwin to her quarters to get a sense of whether he can be recruited into Sheridan's plans to oppose a conspiracy within [=EarthGov=]. He thinks that she's coming on to him, and arrives at her quarters with a bouquet of roses. When he realizes that he's misinterpreted the situation, he claims to have found the roses on her doorstep (leading to another mistake when she finally concludes that they were from Marcus).

** Zigzagged. After Penny becomes a rep for a big pharma company, she's supposed to flirt with her clients (male or, if necessary, female) but it's supposed to be understood as part of the sales pitch. Creator/BillyBobThornton didn't see it that way. He goes so far as to lock the guys in his basement for a shot at Penny.

* In the first episode of ''Series/{{Forever|2014}}'', Henry says to Jo, "You want a drink." Jo mistakes that for a question, as in trying to ask her out, but Henry corrects her.

** In season 2 we learn that Aziraphale and Crowley [[spoiler:first met]] when [[spoiler:angel]] Crowley was [[spoiler:creating the stars]]. Crowley [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/29e699819d9bdb315c3910d71d8a5618/0af40c6934586920-5c/s400x600/651c69ed99452fe27568b2c0d85b12e8d29c9d39.gifv expressed his admiration]] for the stars [[spoiler:he had just created]], and Aziraphale [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/1717f2678a11f31a3cdb5e1aeda43d13/0af40c6934586920-e9/s400x600/f7bdc889d1515e1a2ffeab460f4dd21c047dff7e.gifv briefly mistook it as a compliment]]:

'''Aziraphale:''' (''a happy smile, then a disappointed look upon realising it ''wasn't'' for him'')

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E15Destiny "Destiny"]] While collaborating with a group of Cardassian scientists, one of them mistakes O'Brien's belligerence for flirting, as that's how Cardassian customs work. He's a married man and not a fan of Cardassians due to a previous war. But he does later reconcile with her and says that they can be friends and that he respects her as a professional.

* [[RobotGirl Aigis]] in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. Besides being a robot with NoSocialSkills, she was heavily damaged before the start of the game, including her memory banks. So while she knows what she has to do for her mission, she either doesn't know or can't articulate why she's doing it. When she first meets the protagonist, she immediately hugs him and declares that her highest priority is to be with him. Her desire to be with him at all times first appears to be a crush, until [[spoiler:it's revealed that she sealed the powerful Shadow called Death within him when he was a child. Aigis's mission is to keep an eye on Death, which extends to watching over him]].

* ''Webcomic/DailyJoJo'': Josh wants to "execute" A-yeong by shame after she called him "new money". His methods include driving her home in the car she thinks is useless, belting out "Happy Birthday" to embarrass her in front of the team, and buying her an expensive watch strap after she said she wouldn't wear it. The whole team thinks Josh is interested in A-yeong, and so does she. It's later revealed that A-yeong has had a crush on Josh since the beginning, and what he thought was an insult was meant to be a flirtatious joke.

* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'': Sara'hilana's cheery, outgoing behavior can be a little weird when she starts a conversation with [[https://www.drowtales.com/moonless-age/10038 "I have something for you inside my chestplate."]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* On [[http://www.asexualityarchive.com/possible-signs-of-asexuality-part-3/ this]] ''Website/AsexualityArchive'' article, the author states that he's tried to have normal conversations, only to not only be mistaken for flirting but told he's good at flirting.

* Zig-zag: In the ''WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck'' vehicle "The Super Snooper," Daffy is detective Duck Drake trying to solve a murder at a ritzy Beverage Hills estate. He holds a voluptuous femme fatale (anthropomorphized duck, naturally) as a suspect and grills her about the crime:
-->'''Drake:''' Then what did you do?\\
'''Femme fatale:''' Search me.\\
'''Drake:''' Business before pleasure...please!

'''Homer:''' ''[thinking]'' AAAGHH!!! ''[out loud]'' Sorry, Mr. Burns, but I don't go in for these backdoor shenanigans! Sure, I'm flattered, maybe even a little curious, but the answer is no!

* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'': After their class changes seats, Kyōtarō tries to come up with a way to tell Anna that she was blocking his view of the blackboard [[HugeSchoolgirl without bringing up her height]]. He starts with “I could only see you”, [[ClingyJealousGirl right while Anna was moping about him taking notes from Hara.]] [[ThatCameOutWrong Kyōtarō cuts himself off from the rest of his explanation and realizes exactly what he just said when he sees Anna's reaction.]]

-->'''Ladybug:''' Want to make an easy 200 bucks?
-->'''Horny Passenger:''' ''[{{Beat}}]'' Is this like a... like a sex thing?

-->'''Ray''': You look hot.
-->'''Mackenzie''': You're not really supposed to say that kind of thing in the workplace anymore.
-->'''Ray''': I mean, your face is all red and sweaty.

* The ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' episode "The Matchmaker" has Frasier trying to set a lonely Daphne up with a man. He tells Roz that he's looking for someone handsome, intelligent, and successful -- and that's when the new station manager Tom shows up. Tom is gay, but Frasier doesn't know that, and all of his comments and casual remarks come across as extremely flirtatious to Tom; for example, when Tom compliments the view from Frasier's apartment, he replies "It's better from the bedroom!"
* ''Series/GoodOmens2019''

-->'''Aziraphale:''' Oh... Good Lord!..
-->'''Crowley:''' Look at you, you're ''gorgeous''.
-->'''Aziraphale:''' (''a happy smile, then a disappointed look upon realising it ''wasn't'' for him'')

-->'''Crowley:''' There you go, ''lovely''.

** The "Is It Fall, Yet?" special has a more ambiguous example. Jane, spending time at an artist colony for the summer, is befriended by a woman named Allison. Allison interprets some of her interactions with Jane as flirting and plys her with alcohol. When Jane realizes that Allison is trying to sleep with her, she tells her that [[IncompatibleOrientation she's not gay]]. Allison insists that she's never wrong about these things and that Jane just isn't ready to admit it. The whole thing leaves Jane questioning herself, and Allison later suggests maybe she was just hoping a bit too hard. Then Jane finds out that Allison is sleeping with the pretentious male artist who runs the art colony, and Jane is incensed that Allison would say that she gave off "gay vibes to get into her pants". The story never makes it clear if Allison was genuinely mistaking Jane's friendship for flirting, or if she was attempting to manipulate her for her own ends.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'': In the season 3 episode ''The Midnight Desert'', Rayla kisses Callum on the lips after he finishes telling her YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre, misreading it as a romantic gesture. While he is attracted to her, in that moment, he was honestly just trying to be there for her during an emotional low point.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In "Roadside Attraction", Dipper, his confidence boosted by getting a random girl's number, offhandedly compliments Candy. Candy responds by immediately developing a crush on the newly-confident Dipper.
* Zig-zag: In the [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Daffy Duck]] vehicle "The Super Snooper," Daffy is detective Duck Drake trying to solve a murder at a ritzy Beverage Hills estate. He holds a voluptuous femme fatale (anthropomorphized duck, naturally) as a suspect and grills her about the crime:

* ''Anime/LuckyStar'': During a field trip to Kyoto, Kagami gets a note from a boy in her class, asking her to meet her outside their hotel at night. She assumes it's for a love confession and isn't certain what she'll do. It turns out, however, that he just wanted to ask if he could have the keychain she bought at the gift shop because he was too embarrassed to be seen buying it in front of their classmates. Kagami quietly hands it over, but it is clear that she was a little upset about the situation.

* MistakenForFlirting: Played for drama in "Shining Armor", as Irene Merriweather (an {{Expy}} of Lois Lane) misinterprets [[TheCape Atomicus']] hesitation about their relationship as a hint that she had to prove herself worthy to him. In actuality, he's ''scared'' of relationships since he was ReallyWasBornYesterday, and her efforts only make things worse...

** In season 2 we learn that Aziraphale and Crowley [[spoiler:first met]] when [[spoiler:angel]] Crowley was [[spoiler:creating the stars]]. Crowley expressed his admiration for the stars [[spoiler:he had just created]], and Aziraphale briefly mistook it as a compliment:

** In season 2 we learn that Aziraphale and Crowley [[spoiler:first met]] when [[spoiler:angel]] Crowley was [[spoiler:creating the stars]].

* In the second one-shot in ''[[Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon Abraxas: Empty Fullness]]'', Rodan has mistaken all the instances where [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonMonsterX Monster X]] poked and prodded him in his chest ([[IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn unaware that doing that is a turn-on in Rodan's species]]) for signs that Monster X is interested in mating him. Suffice to say, Monster X is mortified when they realize the misunderstanding, as is Rodan since the realization only comes to light for both of them ''after'' Rodan performed a courtship display in front of Monster X.

* ''Manga/DungeonNoOsananajimi'': Chapter 5 introduces Succy the Succubus, who tries to seduce Van while he's making his regular charge through the dungeon to visit his childhood friend, the final boss Ryuuka. However, among the dungeon's monsters only her top four henchmen, each of whom is also a ShipperOnDeck, know the nature of their relationship. This causes Mino-san the minotaur, out of a combination of protecting Ryuuka's secret and being offended at Succy trying to get between Van and Ryuuka, to charge Van, lose, and use that as an excuse to let Van proceed to Ryuuka. Succy, unaware of what's going on, sees the whole thing as Mino-san leaping into the fray to protect her and comes to the conclusion that he has a thing for her, oblivious that he's actually very annoyed at her.

* ''Webcomic/DailyJoJo'': Josh wants to "execute" A-yeong by shame after she insulted him. His methods include driving her home in the car she thinks is useless, belting out "Happy Birthday" in front of the team, and buying her an expensive watch strap after she said she wouldn't wear it. The whole team thinks Josh is flirting with A-yeong. It's later revealed that A-yeong has had a crush on him since the beginning and thinks he's reciprocating her feelings.

'''Femme fatale:''' Serach me.\\