History Main / CannotSpitItOut

* The gay action series ''Cut & Run'' by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux has this in spades, as befits a pair of troubled FBI tough guys who enjoy antagonizing each other almost as much as sex, and whose relationship is shaped by brutal, successive traumas. Ty (who's never been in love) and Zane (whose long-dead wife was the love of his life, or so he thought) can't manage to acknowledge to ''themselves'' that they're in love, much less to each other. Ty admits it to himself late in [[spoiler:book two]] and to Zane deep into [[spoiler:book three]], but Zane doesn't come clean to Ty until well into [[spoiler:book four]].

* Carrie to Devin in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' for most of the series until [[spoiler: she gives up on him and decides to just focus on the competition. Which happens just in time for him to realise he's in love with her and suffer from this trope as well!]]

* A fair chunk of the early portion of ''Webcomic/TheirStory'' focused on [[SchoolGirlLesbians Sun Jing's]] efforts to befriend the girl she has a crush on, Qiu Tong. She loses her nerve and [[EpicFail ends up walking away after stammering out a "hi" each time]], and her suspicious behaviour causes Qiu Tong avoid her, out of fear that Sun Jing wants to beat her up. [[spoiler: This lasts until chapter 81 when Sun Jing finally confesses to Qiu Tong and makes her romantic interest clear.]]

* Rather sweet example in ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}} and the Pirate's Curse''. It's hinted by her older brother [[spoiler:and confirmed by her human soul]] that [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Rottytops]] harbours a secret admiration for the titular heroine and genuinely wants to be friends with her, but never gets around to admitting it.

* In the second part of the Love Potion arc of ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', Gwynn curses Torg by turning him into a half-man, half-donkey and causing him to bray every time he tries to say something important in order to make sure that he does not tell anyone about her plan. Unfortunately, while on a date with Zoe, Oasis arrives and abducts him, kicking Zoe in the face in the process. Under the curse, Torg is unable to tell anyone what happened, causing Gwynn to believe he mistreated Zoe, but he eventually manages to get Riff to find out the truth.

* Crumley Coghweel was nebbish from a 1963 Paramount animated short subject who had been working in the secretary pool of Michigan Nuts And Bolts for 20 years. His boss calls him in and says that Cogwheel has never asked for a raise because he's too timid. He challenges Cogwheel to ask for a raise right then and there, but Cogwheel cannot spit it out. The boss gives Cogwheel a week to summon the courage to ask for a raise or else he'll be fired. On the last day, Cogwheel finds the courage: he gets drunk.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CraigOfTheCreek'' episode "Breaking the Ice", [[spoiler: Wildernessa]] has trouble trying to tell [[spoiler: Craig]] how she feels about him, so she tells him through a birdlike mating dance, which just confuses him.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CraigOfTheCreek'' episode "Breaking the Ice", Wildernessa has trouble trying to tell Craig how she feels about him, so she tells him through a birdlike mating dance, which just confuses him.

* In the book ''Destiny'' (book 3 of the [[Literature/SymphonyOfAges Rhapsody]] series), dragon-blooded MartyStu Ashe cannot reveal the identity of his new wife to his soulmate, the equally self-centered lead character, Rhapsody, for reasons that were never made very clear.

* In the book ''Destiny'' (book 3 of the [[Literature/SymphonyOfAges Rhapsody]] series), dragon-blooded MartyStu Ashe cannot reveal the identity of his new wife to his soulmate, the equally [[MarySue sueish]] lead character, Rhapsody, for reasons that were never made very clear.

* In the ''Manga/MobPsycho100'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20822168 The Best Laid Plans]]'' Teru plans to confess his feeling to Mob over a very fancy dinner date. His plans are derailed when he finds that he forgot his wallet at home, doesn't have enough to pay for their dinner, and falls into a stream. Eventually he does spit it out, though, and it's adorable.

* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'': "Every fiber of my being wants to puke at once when I say this, but I need your he... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aossw4UUjVA heaa...]]"

* ''ComicBook/MouseGuard'': Incredibly, it's the [[spoiler:HotBlooded BoisterousBruiser Saxon]] who embodies this trope. In Winter, we learn that he's been sitting on his feelings for [[spoiler:Gwendolyn]] for years. [[spoiler:He spits in the denoument.]]

* ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy'': Danvers has to report the results of her interrogation of Lawson. She's visibly ashamed to open her mouth and say "His name's Captain Marvel and he's a spaceman from the Cree indian tribe, sir"

* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': Shinji and Asuka got together after he said her that he loved her. However Asuka was still very confused, frightened and insecure of herself and her feelings. So it took a while until she was ready to admit to herself and him that she needed him and loved him back.

* In the ''Manga/MobPsycho100'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20822168 The Best Laid Plans]]'' Teru plans to confess his feeling to Mob over a very fancy dinner date. His plans are derailed when he find that he forgot his wallet at home, doesn't have enough to pay for their dinner, and falls into a stream. Eventually he does spit it out, though, and it's adorable.

* ''Webcomic/FateGamersOnly'': During the first Halloween event, Rikku prepares to respond to Kiyohime calling her her husband by saying that her wife is Mash, but cuts herself off before she can finish saying her kohai's name. Mash gets disappointed because she was interested in finding out what Rikku's type was, but Dr. Roman assures her that she doesn't have to worry.

* A huge point of plot in the ''Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' fanfic ''Toward the World's End''. Protagonist Arthur is clearly in love with Nanoha, which is obvious to everyone except Nanoha and ''himself''. Arthur constantly grapples with the fact that he has no clue what he actualy feels for Nanoha, other than that it is more than friendship. He ''does'' reffer to Fate as his "rival for Nanoha's love" toward the end of the 2nd fanfic however, with the revelation more directed at the fact that Arthur now understood Fate's feelings, rather than his own. However, it may suggest that he is at least slightly comming to terms with how feels.
** This gets so extreme that the other characters make jabs at Arthur about it, and several of them have a "side" that they're on (Either supporting Arthur or Fate ending up with Nanoha). Particualy, Arthur's fellow forwards often use this as a talking point at lunch time. Subaru in particular. None of these characters have any problem spitting it out to Nanoha either, making several jokes about Arthur's feelings around her.

* Almost literally in ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' fanfiction ''Haloes''. While Urd and Keichi are obviously developing feeling to each other, a nasty bout with aphasia robs the former of her ability to use written and spoken language. Her later AnguishedDeclarationOfLove has the mute goddess [[spoiler:develop and entire StarfishLanguage made of music and translate it in words just to relearn how to speak.]]

* Used in ''Film/StarWarsTheEmpireStrikesBack'' to comedic effect. C-3PO notices that the hyperdrive motivator had been damaged by blaster fire and tries to tell Han Solo a few times. Each time Solo shuts him up, so when they try to escape from an Imperial Star Destroyer by escaping to hyperspace and the drives peter out, 3PO says the equivalent of "I told you so" and Solo gets a look of extreme embarrassment and moves off to fix the hyperdrive.

** In ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars A Princess of Mars]]'', although aware of the CultureClash, Dejah Thoris is so offended by John Carter than she declares him unfit to clean the teeth of her grandmother's cat. Later, when he finds that she is crying, believing him dead, he talks with her companion, saying that Dejah Thoris is distressed that her grandmother's cat would have no one to clean its teeth.

* Just about every single heroic character in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', and its sequel series ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', suffers from this. Nobody who has has ''any'' sort of vital information about ''anything'' can reveal it straight away, either because they for various reasons Cannot Spit It Out or because they're interrupted by someone else arriving or something important happening. The single exception to this rule is Butch, a minor character from ''The Lost Hero,'' who at his first appearance explains exactly what's going on the moment he's asked.

* In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', the first thing Darcy says about Elizabeth is that she's not pretty enough to dance with (which she overhears). When she walks to Netherfield to visit her ill sister, his opinion of her starts to change, but he doesn't do anything beyond {{Longing Look}}s until he tries to propose to her many months later, fully expecting that she was ''hoping'' for it. He did have a good reason for keeping his feelings quiet; as he [[SarcasmMode helpfully explains]], he was trying to reason himself out of wanting to connect himself with her inferior family. How odd, then, that she should refuse him! Of course, after Elizabeth's refusal, Darcy takes stock of himself based on her complaints about him and starts to shape up, becoming a much more polite and empathetic person. This causes Elizabeth to begin loving ''him'', but feels incredibly awkward about it given how violently she refused him, and also feels guilty because half of the jerkish acts she accused him of weren't even true. So she says nothing to him about it, partly due to the awkward and partly because she feels like he couldn't possibly love her back after the crap she gave him. ''Then'' [[spoiler: Lydia elopes with Wickham, exposing the Bennet family to potential, devastating shame which would make Darcy's marrying Elizabeth social suicide on his part]], and complicates it all even ''further.''

* In ''Theatre/PokemonLive'', Misty can't tell Ash she loves him because she thins he's too busy with Pokemon to notice her.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 3'', Cyber-elf X seems to be hiding a very important piece of information to his best friend Zero (even though X doesn't have a problem revealing it to someone else; what were you thinking, X?!). ''It was the BigBad'' that revealed the secret behind Zero that X was trying to hide: [[spoiler:Zero is using a clone body and AxCrazy [[TheDragon Omega Zero]] is the original body]]. Naturally for Zero, he still doesn't care about it when he finds out.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Sakura eats, cooks and does the next-closest thing to living in [[SenpaiKohai Shirou]]'s house for 2 years and is completely smitten with him, but due to her completely non-existant self-esteem, she absolutely cannot let him know how she feels.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'', not only are Nara and Marsala both unable to express their feelings for each other, they each have instances where they unknowningly slap the other down.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'': Nathan Explosion has an "apology problem," in that he finds it hard to say that he's sorry for his actions. This turns out to be a actual physical incapability [[spoiler: during Roy Cornickelson's funeral: as he tries to apologize to Pickles, he stammers over the phrase and even ''vomits blood'' before he can finally spit it out.]]

* Following Amity Blight's CharacterDevelopment in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' and eventually developing feelings for Luz, she doesn't have the heart to tell her how she feels, especially in "Wing It Like Witches" whenever they cross paths. This probably has something to do with the fact that the idea of Luz rejecting her is unabiguously stated to be her greatest fear. [[spoiler:Ultimately, she does manage to blurt it out in "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door", though she defers to Luz and allows her to be the one to initiate the RelationshipUpgrade.]]

** When asked directly, young Prince Lion-O doesn't disclose that he saw a frightening vision in the Sword of Omens during a RiteOfPassage ceremony, both [[VaguenessIsComing unaware of its significance]], and all too aware of his father King Claudus's disdain for him as a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. CourtMage Jaga deliberately mentions that "[[{{Seers}} Sight Beyond Sight]]" exists, in an attempt to convince Lion-O that its safe to confide in him, which succeeds. Unfortunately, satisfied that Lion-O trusts him enough to tell him eventually, Jaga gives Lion-O an indulgent NotNowKiddo, to allow him to get back to a party. Unbeknownst to either of them, Lion-O's vision is very time-sensitive. The next evening, too late to do anything, Lion-O realizes he saw ancient OutsideContextProblem and BigBad Mumm-Ra.
** Also [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] with a SiblingTriangle subplot between Lion-O, his brother Tygra and shared LoveInterest Cheetara. Rather than explicitly state that they both have feelings for her and asking if she reciprocates, they [[InvokedTrope complicate]] matters by treating their interactions as ([[SiblingRivalry yet another]]) passive-aggressive competition, hoping she'll give an indication of "choosing" one of them eventually. In "Between Brothers" Cheetara finally understands the extent to which the pair have been feuding over her, and apologizes for [[PlayedStraight playing this trope straight.]] She admits that she's [[AllLoveIsUnrequited also harbored unrequieted feelings]], confessing her love and kissing [[spoiler:Tygra, which is of course the moment Lion-O enters the scene.]]

!!Examples:

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* The lynchpin of the ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' manga is [[NiceGuy Keiichi]] and [[MagicalGirlfriend Belldandy's]] [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan ironclad relationship]], and Keiichi's inability to blatantly express his love without help from a third party, even though Belldandy has no trouble at all with it. He was '''much''' [[CharacterizationMarchesOn closer to Bell in the early manga, though]], and seems to be getting better at it in recent chapters. It should '''also''' be noted that the trope is {{averted}} in the 1994 {{OVA}}, and in the 2005 animé's first season ([[SeriesContinuityError ...but ignored in the second]]), and both seem to be more popular and well-known among fans than the manga. The manga's finale reveals the reason for the backsliding is [[spoiler:mortals and gods are not allowed to enter an intimate relationship. Because Keiichi's wish for Belldandy to remain at his side could not be voided, the Ultimate Force suppressed his urges to the point that even holding hands was embarassing]].
* ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'':
** The whole series would have been much simpler if Aoi and Kaoru could just tell Kaoru's [[TheUnwantedHarem Unwanted Harem]] that he was taken. Also much shorter. On the upside, it paves the way for Tina's crowning moment.
** Tina is another example. Her inability to confess her love to Kaoru before the series begins leads to her going on a year-long trip around the world, mainly to try and get over it.
* In the backstory of ''Manga/AizawaSanMultiplies'', the title character spent two years crushing on her classmate Souta Mizutani. She even named a cat after him because of it.
* In ''Manga/AoiKiseki'' the female lead Ageha is unable to interact with her beau without going full {{Tsundere}} and confessing her feelings out of sheer shyness. When she finally works the courage to do so, a nasty fall damages her brain, robbing her of her ability to speak. Ouch.
* Moe in ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'' had a crush on Misa for several years as of PresentDay, but she didn't have the confidence to confess to the latter until Mikage encouraged her to.
* Mikasa from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', has been in love with Eren since they were kids, but he remained completely [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] to it and she resigned herself to loving him from afar. [[spoiler: Come Chapter 123, Eren asks her out of nowhere what exactly he means to her and Mikasa, completely blindsided, stammered out that he was her family. She would later come to see this moment as one of her greatest regrets, especially considering the path that Eren went down shortly after this encounter...]]
* Kaorin of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' can't do anything about her crush on the resident HugeSchoolgirl, as she becomes so [[LoveMakesYouCrazy flustered]] around Sakaki that it's amazing that she can talk at all.
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' brings this to the logical conclusion. [[spoiler: [[CatGirl Hanekawa]]]] never confessed her feelings towards [[ObliviousToLove Araragi]] [[UnLuckyChildhoodFriend despite knowing him for years]], so he gets taken away by [[spoiler:Senjougahara]] who confessed to him not long after realizing her own feelings. Araragi never realized this [[spoiler: until the cat possessing Hanekawa spit it out to him]].
* In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', Moritaka Mashiro's uncle Nobuhiro was in a correspondence with his classmate Miyuki Haruno (Miho's mother) for years, but was unable to confess his feelings to her until he was able to make a living off of manga, wanting to date her with the intent of marrying her and feeling unable to do so considering her rising to become the secretary to her company's president. Miyuki eventually fell in love with another man and had children, as while she felt the same about Nobuhiro, she was unable to wait any longer. Kaya's father notes that Moritaka and Miho admitting their feelings to each other is the crucial reason why their relationship will have a different outcome.
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler: the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler: Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after.]]
* ''Manga/BGataHKei'':
** [[TheNondescript Takashi Kosuda]] has moments of this when trying to express his feelings for the series protagonist, [[LovableSexManiac Yamada]]. [[spoiler: When he finally works up the courage to confess his love to her, his message is garbled by train doors closing ''on his neck'' before he is whisked away.]]
** Yamada is worse. She and Kosuda start dating at about Chapter 20. Kosuda finds this out about 200 chapters and almost two in-universe years later.
* The fact that the two sisters Asu and Kyou from ''Manga/BinbouShimaiMonogatari'' love each other a lot can't prevent them from communicating poorly on a regular basis, making them run in panicky circles where a few choice words would have helped immensely. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BinbouShimaiMonogatari1.jpg But the making-up hugs are cute indeed]]. [[{{Squee}} Awww...]]
* Charlotte Roselei from ''Manga/BlackClover''. She has a very bad experience of this when it comes to the one she is in love with. When Yami only wants to ask her about the curse she suffered from, not only does she interrupt him but also ''runs away screaming'' when she thinks he is about to make her confess. Eventually, she admits her love for Yami to her squad and they are supportive about it, much to her surprise. But she's still completely unable to admit it it ''to Yami''. For added hilarity, he shows up to talk to her almost immediately afterwards.
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'': Haji. Poor Haji loved Saya for the entire series but he remains the stoic quiet guy. For centuries, ever since a young Haji saw Saya in 1870, he pined away but he never tells her until the very last episode at the very last moment when [[spoiler: Saya is trying to kill Diva's babies and wants to die herself - and even then he only coughs it up when Kai forces him to. Of course, a few minutes later Amshel shows up and wrecks their moment, leaving Haji buried in rubble.]] Just think how much better Saya's life would be if he had said it sooner.
* Hagino in ''Manga/BlueDrop'' for the largest part doesn't tell Mari that she is the commander of the space ship that caused the disaster in which Mari's parents died.
* In ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', it's hard to say that the plot would have changed had he told Rosette, but Chrono constantly dodges around telling Rosette about his past -- to the point that "one of these days, I'll have to tell you a story" practically becomes his CatchPhrase. The few times he ''does'' seem to be about to explain it, he's interrupted. In the manga, Rosette has to go into his soul and dig around in his memories to find out the truth.
* ''Manga/CityHunter'': Ryo. The one time he tried to declare his love for Kaori, he couldn't finish the phrase. Then Kaori accidentally blew up the building, preventing him from succeeding in his attempts at finishing the phrase.
* Used famously in Creator/{{CLAMP}} works, especially ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', ''Manga/{{Wish}}'' and the newer series ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic''. They also tend to use a unique variations of this trope especially with the dreamseers. Who can see the possible futures both good and bad. They'll tell the rest of the cast whenever the future is good, however when the future is generally bad they won't say anything. The reason behind this is because as long as they don't tell the key players that future then they can change it, but telling others of that future can set it in stone. [[spoiler: And the ''only'' dreamseer who actually DID say the future was still unchanged... said so after ''her'' death]].
* In ''Manga/Classi9'', [[spoiler:Bach]] has troubles dealing with discovering [[SweetPollyOliver Ren's gender]], so much he can't bring himself to tell her he knows.
* ''Franchise/CodeGeass'':
** [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Shirley]] [[CuteClumsyGirl Fenette]] is not able to give a LoveConfession to [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob Lelouch]] [[SelectiveObliviousness that he actually pays attention to]] until a little over halfway through R2, [[spoiler: [[KillTheCutie and then she dies]]]].
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest [[spoiler: about the exact circumstances surrounding Euphemia's death.]]
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy one.]] He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it.]] All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'' [[spoiler:the plot would have been almost completely different if Chikane had told Himeko about what happened in their past lives.]]
* All Daisuke needs to do in ''Manga/DNAngel'' to stop transforming into Dark is to get the girl he loves to love him in return -- but that includes loving ''Dark'', since Dark is a part of him. Daisuke is unable to bring himself to tell her the truth, partially because he's scared of rejection and partially because part of him isn't sure if he ''wants'' Dark to leave.
* ''Anime/EurekaSeven'':
** Three of the characters, a seasoned rebel named Holland, his girlfriend/second in command Talho, and a young boy named Renton get into an argument over an injured teammate. Holland pretends he doesn't care, and goes on a mission to save a head priest "for a lot of money." Renton is furious that he doesn't care. Talho understands that Holland is saving this priest because he can save their teammate. Holland beats Renton up for his suggesting they try to save their teammate, Talho slaps Holland for not telling Renton that he wants to save their teammate, she also slaps Renton for not realizing that Holland wants to save their teammate (but she doesn't tell him this). This leads to Renton leaving the crew, and falling into the company of a rival mercenary. Just because everybody Cannot Spit It Out.
** In another example, Renton, who's looking for relationship advice because he wants to tell Eureka he loves her, winds up looking at a porno rag, and of course, he gets caught. The men think he wants to do it with Eureka, so they convert his room into some sort of love nest, and Holland of course finds out and beats the shit out of Renton.
* A non-romantic example from ''Manga/FairyTail'' is [[spoiler:Cana, who is Gildarts' daughter. However, she was originally raised by her mother who apparently never told Gildarts about her, and after her mother died, Cana sought out Gildarts but couldn't work up the nerve to tell him she was his daughter. It was more than a decade before Gildarts found out.]]
* Played straight by Saito and Louise in the first season of the ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' anime, averted early in the second. Particularly surprising considering [[LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana who]] these characters are [[{{expy}} expies]] of.
* In the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' manga and second anime, Winry and Ed have this in SPADES. To the point where he'd rather recite the periodic table of elements than admit his feelings.
* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':
** Through the entire anime, Kaname was unable to bring herself to come out and confess to Sôsuke. Granted, ''anyone'' should have been capable of noticing her feelings without a direct confession, but... [[ChasteHero Sôsuke]] [[CloudCuckooLander being]] [[NoSocialSkills Sôsuke]], normal methods [[ObliviousToLove don't work with him]].
** He probably had a clue and, by the look of the ''Second Raid'' finale, he reciprocated even though he wanted to keep it a secret from Mithril for obvious reasons.
** In ''The Second Raid", Tessa angrily denounces Sôsuke's inability to just say [[LoveTriangle that he loves Kaname over her]].
--->'''Tessa:''' Do you understand my feelings, even a little bit? You're the worst! You pretend to be kind and friendly, but you're just an egotist! You're always pretending... Why don't you just admit it? "''I want to be with her! Don't stand in my way!''"
** Wraith comes to Mao with important news. But after watching Mao rally the forces by commanding them to embarrass their annoyingly overconfident fallen comrade, [[spoiler:Kurz]], by completing the mission without him, Wraith immediately clams up and insists the news actually wasn't that important and would probably just ruin the mood. [[spoiler:Said news is that Kurz actually survived and had just finished rehabilitation]].
* In ''Anime/GirlsBeyondTheWasteland'', Yuuka starts to realize that she likes Buntarou, but can never bring herself to tell him directly, either due to fear of rejection, or because she doesn't want to screw up the group dynamic in the event they started dating.
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the three members of the Oarai student council are the only ones who know that [[spoiler:if the school does not win the tournament, it will be shut down]]. Naturally, while this motivates many of their decisions, they don't reveal it, with Anzu making a vaguely worded threat that Miho won't be attending school at Oarai for long if she doesn't join the tankery club, silencing Yuzu when she is about to tell Miho and Yukari the truth, and even being unable to tell Miho when she invites her to dinner for that exact purpose (leaving Miho suspicious). This proves counterproductive to the student council's plans when those LockedOutOfTheLoop are less concerned about winning, and they are ultimately forced to tell the truth when Miho considers forfeiting the match rather than risk people getting hurt.
* Although ''Anime/GunXSword'' begins with Wendy offering to marry Van as a reward for [[StandardHeroReward saving her hometown]], Wendy never confesses her deepening feelings for him, despite some good opportunities. Instead, her feelings for him are displayed mostly through GreenEyedMonster moments. [[spoiler: Her decision not to say anything when they part in the finale looks a lot like an AbortedDeclarationOfLove, but since they end up being reunited in the DistantFinale -- at a time when she's actually old enough to be in a relationship with him -- things work out in the end.]]
* In ''Manga/HanaKimi'', Mizuki loves Sano, and Sano loves Mizuki pretty much from Chapter 3 onwards. Also, that's about when Sano also finds out that Mizuki really is a girl. And neither knows about what the other knows until chapter 133.
* In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', a lot of Hime's problems, especially around Iona and her JerkAss attitude around her, is due to the fact that she just can't spit out her DarkSecret, that [[spoiler:she accidentally opened the Axia Box, releasing the Phantom Empire.]]
* [[http://www.myanime.me/screenshots/115206-episode-13-screenshot-005.jpg Shallot]] from Creator/TatsuyamaSayuri's ''Manga/HappyHappyClover'', has a secret crush on [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIrNEiChB8E/UJXnXltOkoI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sdbUuqxYuMQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-11-04-10h42m25s69.jpg Clover's best friend Mallow]]. In one story from the first volume, Shallot asks Clover to deliver a secret letter to Mallow and tells her it's a secret between him and her. [[{{Foil}} But Kale's baby brothers hears]] what Shallot and Clover we're talking about and later when Clover loses the letter. She decides to look for it, but the entire forest animals hears about the letter which was a result that Kale's brothers said to one of them and started asking each animal. When things start getting out of hand, Clover then see's Mallow asking for the letter that Shallot secretly gave Clover. By the end, the entire forest knows about this while Mallow is confused and Shallot is embarrassed. In the second volume, where a the main characters would answer questions to readers/fans. Shallot reveals that he wants to tell Mallow that he likes her, but its impossible to him since she's mostly spending time with Clover. However in the final volume, when Shallot get's hurt. Mallow recently in that volume wanted to be a doctor and decides to visit Shallot. Near the end of the story, [[LoveConfession Shallot accidentally admits to Mallow that he likes her.]] [[DoubleTake When he realized that he said that,]] [[ThatCameOutWrong he tries to say that it wasn't supposed to sound like that.]] But Mallow's response? [[OfficialCouple He gives him a big hug!]] After Mallow hugged him, Shallot get's so excited that he passes out as a response. Mallow responds by trying to wake him up, she also monologues about her heart feeling "fuzzy and warm" after he said that to her. Ever since that day, [[GenkiGirl Clover]] [[CuddleBug mentions that Mallow's been giving alot of hugs to him lately.]] Near the end of the final volume, [[HappilyMarried he and Mallow get married during the epilogue of the series.]]
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** Kyon seems to be the only cast member who is oblivious to Haruhi's attraction to him (even though she would likely die before admitting as much, perhaps even to herself).
** Conversely, Kyon has admitted on multiple occasions (in the novels, at least) that he is attracted to both Asahina Mikuru and Nagato Yuki (but never confesses as much to either girl). [[spoiler:In a subversion of the latter, Asahina warns Kyon that he mustn't allow himself to become too close to her]].
** This trope mostly applies to Haruhi, who would simplify things a lot if she actually said something, and unlike Kyon, doesn't have a reason to keep quiet.
* Although most of the girls of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' UnwantedHarem have the ability to use this trope, the only one who really gets it enforced on her is Hinagiku, though she did manage to confess once, it was timed so that he couldn't hear it, and otherwise it gets mixed with interuptions or her simply, as she explains to Ayumu, wanting him to start the confessions.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** A great deal of time involving England and America involves both of their inabilities to share their feelings, mixed dangerously with England's {{tsundere}} tendencies and America's JerkWithAHeartOfGold habits targeted right back. This ShipTease has affected the fandom as well as the canon universe immensely.
** Sweden -- every time he tries to talk to Finland, he becomes flustered and can't finish what he was about to say. It doesn't help that Finland seems to be ObliviousToLove, either.
* ''Manga/HidamariSketch'':
** Sae has trouble telling her little sister Chika how much she really cares for her.
** Likewise, Natsume is sending Sae [[{{Tsundere}} mostly confusing messages]], although it's admittedly quite hard to get through Sae's [[SelectiveObliviousness obliviousness]].
* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':
** The girls usually have NO problem telling Issei of their feelings, often at the same time... in his bed... as he's trying to go to sleep. The only one that does is [[spoiler:Rias, because she's worried he doesn't see her as anything but the Occult Club's president]]. Issei has trouble telling Rias how he feels, too. [[spoiler: He's still emotionally scarred from being rejected and literally murdered by the first girl confessed to, a fallen angel named Raynare, who'd been masquerading as a normal girl and stringing Issei along before killing him.]]
** Akeno has trouble confessing at first, knowing Issei's hatred of Fallen Angels and fearing he would hate her, too, due to her half-blood heritage as one. Once he assures her he couldn't hate her if he tried, she gets a lot more clingy, in a good way.
* The girls in ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' can't bring themselves to telling Tomoya how they feel, either because of competition from the other girls or because he seems to be ObliviousToLove.
* Including it in the Anime & Manga section even though it's technically an Original English Language manga. In ''Manga/{{Dramacon}}'' by Svetlana Chmakova, despite three years of blatant flirtation and although, like Kagome and Inuyasha, each has more of less come to an understanding with regards to the other's feelings, [[spoiler:neither Christie or Matt openly confess their feelings before the story's final act]].
* Played mostly straight with the members of Ichika's BalancedHarem in ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'', but wonderfully averted with [[spoiler:Laura, after being [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosted]]]]. Half an hour after she knows she's in love with Ichika, so does everyone else--Including Ichika, [[ObliviousToLove which is pretty damn impressive]].
* ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'': A lot of grief would've been avoided had [[spoiler: Naoki simply voiced his growing feelings for Kotoko earlier. It took a GreenEyedEpiphany to finally declare to her.]]
* In ''Manga/JunjouRomantica'', Misaki has enormous difficulty on two counts: he can't bring himself to tell Usami he loves him, and he's so concerned with never being a burden to anyone that he's pretty much incapable of saying what he wants from other people, even when they flat-out ask him and are obviously willing to do whatever he wants. Naturally, this leads to complications, as he tends to go along with what other people want -- even when the reason why they want it is because they think it'll make ''him'' happy...
* A variation in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Instead of it being "cannot spit it out", it's "''will'' not spit it out" since the plot revolves around Kaguya and Shirogane trying to force each other into confessing without confessing themselves. [[spoiler:Although they actually do confess and get together long before the series ends.]]
* In ''Anime/KaleidoStar'', IllBoy Ken Robbins tries often to tell Sora Naegino that he greatly loves and admires her, but never gets the chance. In a more adult version, Kalos Eido loves his best friend Sarah Dupont, but feels guilty for their common past and doesn't want to let her know. And last, Jerry the policeman can't tell his best friend Kate that he loves her since they've been friends for ''decades'' and he fears to lose that friendship [[spoiler: When he ''does'' tell her, he graduates to VictoriousChildhoodFriend]].
* Tomoe from ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' has some real problems admitting his feelings to Nanami. Part of it comes from the fact he's her servant and bodyguard and he was forced into that position against his will. Part of it stems from his disapproval of InterspeciesRomance (he's a {{Kitsune}} and she's a human). And part of it is simply that he is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', Yuichi's aunt Akiko never thinks to mention to him that [[spoiler:the girl whose death traumatized him 7 years ago was still alive in the hospital]] until the memory resurfaces.
* One reason for the IdiotPlot in ''Manga/KedamonoDamono''. Haruki [[IJustWantToBeNormal has his reasons]], though.
* The title character of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' is totally unable to take initiative in starting a romantic relationship with Miu, even though she obviously likes him. All of the masters are constantly guessing (and probably betting on) when he'll finally say something.
* Many [[LoveTriangle love triangles]], such as the one in ''Manga/KimagureOrangeRoad,'' have a third wheel who thinks that the main character returns their feelings. In the case of ''KOR'', he doesn't, but feels it's far better to lead her on for the entire series instead of sitting her down and explaining the situation, as he ''does'' care for the girl as a sister and can't bring himself to hurt her feelings. It certainly doesn't help that the girl whom he ''does'' have feelings for is the ''best friend'' of the third wheel ''and'' an ActionGirl who already promised to help the wheel girl, as well as willing to [[IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer beat the shit out of him if he causes said girl harm]].
* ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'': [[ShrinkingViolet Sawako]] keeps stopping short of saying what she really feels time and time again because of her [[ExtremeDoormat overly selfless and humble personality]], an endless source of frustration and misunderstandings for those who care about her.
* Kotaro and Mayumi in ''Manga/KotaroMakaritoru'' absolutely love each other but feel too embarrassed to confess it to the other. When one of them is about to muster enough courage to confess, [[MomentKiller expect someone else to show up and ruin the moment]].
* In the animated adaptation of ''Manga/KotouraSan'', there is Haruka and Hiyori to Manabe. Interestingly, Manabe and Haruka's romance progresses fine regardless, and Haruka confessed in the end regardless. Averted in the manga, where Haruka confessed in the ''third chapter''.
* A consistent problem in ''Manga/LastGame''. Although, it may be {{Justified}} in Yanagi's case because Kujou is just so ObliviousToLove that she might misinterpret his potential confession as a declaration of friendship instead.
* In ''Manga/LoveHina'' it took the vast majority of the fourteen volumes of the published manga for the male protagonist to even get past "I L...". [[spoiler:The entire ''rest'' of the manga consists of the same happening to the ''female'' lead.]] It's fun to follow, but incredibly excruciating at the same time. It's eventually [[LampshadeHanging referred to this]] in the [[MetaGuy Kanako arc]] {{OVA}}s.
* In the first two seasons of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'', the villains have their own reasons for doing what they're doing, but refuse to tell why despite Nanoha wanting to talk to them. Nanoha (whose main characteristic is her honesty and straightforwardness) decides that the only way to get them to explain their actions is to [[DefeatMeansFriendship beat them in combat]] and [[WarriorTherapist demand an explanation]]. It works.
** The Wolkenritter are concerned about Hayate being uncovered as master of the Book of Darkness and being labeled a criminal as a result, which could be one reason why they don't tell Nanoha and her friends their story.
** Also, all of the TSAB's experience with them at that point was as emotionless, deadly constructs who would stop at nothing to protect the Book of Darkness - not exactly people with a trustworthy reputation. Even if Nanoha and Fate are willing to think otherwise, it's clear they're not the ones calling the shots on the case.
* After episode 9 of ''Anime/MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'', Sasshi finds himself unable to bring himself to tell Arumi that [[spoiler:Masa-jii is dead]].
* In ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', Clef can't bring himself to reveal that [[spoiler:the Magic Knights are summoned to kill the Pillar of Cephiro as a failsafe if that person becomes evil and threatens the land]]. He deeply apologizes for this later.
* ''Manga/{{Mahoraba}}'' takes the romantic variety to insane levels, leaving you to wonder if either of the mains have tongues at all until the last episode.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'':
** A large amount of problems in the series and its sequel could have been avoided had Athrun actually spoke his mind to various people, instead of moping around silently and constantly going "it's nothing" when people asked him what he thought.
** Deconstructed concerning Kira and Flay. Before his fated duel with Athrun, Kira tells Flay there's something he wants to tell her, despite all the time she's been manipulating him. When Kira disappears after the fight, Flay realizes that she did like him. Fate ends up conspiring to keep the two apart until the very end [[spoiler:where Rau Le Crueset ends up shooting down her escape craft as one last KickTheDog moment.]]
* In ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', Sakura probably wouldn't even be Nozaki's assistant at all if she'd just told him she liked him instead of chickening out and saying she's his fan. [[ObliviousToLove Nozaki being Nozaki]], of course, he took it the wrong way. She makes the same mistake the second time. Later, she states that she wants to make Nozaki fall for her and confess first because she's afraid that if she confesses again Nozaki will just use it to mine ideas for his manga.
* ''Manga/MyLoveStory'' plays this straight between Takeo and Rinko for about three episodes before Makoto gets annoyed and forces them both to tell the truth, resulting in the two going steady almost immediately. Makoto basically spares the audience about 20 episodes worth of angst and romantic tension.
* ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'' plays with this trope in just about every way possible. In the first chapter it's averted, with protagonist Asahi going to confess to his classmate Youko...only to get thrown off his stride when he walks into the classroom and sees her with [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire fangs and giant bat wings]]. When she says she'll have to leave the school now that her secret is exposed, he promises not to tell anyone and asks her to be...[[JustFriends his friend]]. He hides his true feelings for a while, but in hindsight he decides it's better this way since if he'd said "Be my girlfriend" right then, it would have looked like he was blackmailing her. A couple of friends who have known him for years also think it's a good thing, since Asahi has a tendency to admire girls and mistake that admiration for love[[note]]Which is exactly what happened with Youko -- she projected the image of a [[IceQueen cool beauty]], but is actually cheerful, friendly, and [[TheDitz kind of an airhead]][[/note]], but by being friends first he gets to know the real Youko and develop actual feelings for her. He does end up confessing for real about halfway through the series, and the two become a couple, though the confession letter he wrote in the first chapter [[BookEnds doesn't get opened until the very last]].
** There's also other characters who have feelings for Asahi, and can't spit it out for various reasons. ClassRepresentative Nagisa is [[AliensStealCable an alien who got most of her knowledge on Earth by reading manga]], and is also incredibly insecure about her feelings. [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Shiho]] tries to deny her feelings for Asahi because she and Youko have known each other since they were kids and she'd never do anything as scummy as stealing her best friend's boyfriend. And of course, both of them are major [[ShipperOnDeck Shippers on Deck]] for the couple (while Youko ships Nagisa with Asahi before realizing her own feelings). Both of them actually do confess, but entirely so that Asahi can let them down gently and they can move on with their lives.
** And then there's the non-romantic version with the main plot, which is most prominent with Rin, Asahi's [[KidFromTheFuture Granddaughter from the Future]]. She could very easily clear up a lot of the mysteries and confusion about the plot (in particular whom Asahi ends up marrying), but she's expressly forbidden from revealing future knowledge, with her punishment for doing so being barred from returning to the future for some time. [[spoiler:Near the end of the series, as the cast starts to put things together, she says "To hell with the rules" and owns up to everything because she wants to prevent the BadFuture she comes from where practically the entire cast are alone and sad due to their friendships and lives breaking down.]]
* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':
** Catarina has a large mixed gender harem, all of whom were ''supposed'' to be interested in each other in various ways. Since she thinks that they still must be into each other like they are in the game they were based on, she doesn't factor herself into the group's romantic interactions. All of them are trying to get her to figure it out by being indirect and get frustrated when she completely blows them off. Only Maria and Mary get close to actually spitting it out. For Maria in particular there is no excuse: The lines she gives are ones that Catarina ''knows'' would be a confession if they were said to anyone else.
** Catarina's parents, the Duke and Duchess, had one in the backstory. They both fell in love with each other [[LoveAtFirstSight at first sight]], but never ''told'' each other. Catarina's father basically proposed to her mother by going to her father instead, which he feels guilty about. In the original timeline, this eventually led to PoorCommunicationKills; the Duke adopted a boy with strong magic, who the Duchess assumed was his illegitimate child. She hated the boy and shunned her husband, becoming a bitter old shrew and contributing both to Catarina's villainy (as she was left to be spoiled by her father) and Keith's womanizing (because he was starved for affection). In the new timeline, Catarina's attempts to be nice to Keith result in the Duchess confronting the Duke about it. When she realizes Keith is ''not'' her husband's bastard, she becomes much nicer to him, and the Duke and Duchess [[SickeninglySweethearts enter into a honeymoon phase]]. They grow up as a happy, close family.
* The title character of ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' is obviously attracted to Jean, even though she otherwise claims he's merely a friend. Unfortunately she is unable to admit her love for him ''or'' what she actually wants from him because she simply doesn't know how to act appropriately except through rage (she gradually changes that behavior). Jean, by contrast, is much more open, honest, and demonstrative.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Hinata regarding her feelings for Naruto until she ''did'' spit it out... and almost got killed by Pain immediately afterward. [[PlotArmor She survived]], but Naruto did not directly respond to her feelings [[spoiler:until ''The Last'']] (see below).
** Naruto. He had extreme admiration and fondness for his teammate Sasuke, viewing him as his best friend and the person he could relate to more than anyone else, wanting his acknowledgment. However, he was too stubborn, prideful and jealous of Sasuke's skills and reputation to ever admit it, and acted like he hated him most of the time. Until Sasuke stabbed a chidori through his chest and nearly killed him... yeah, it took that much. Of course, their relationship was [[VitriolicBestBuds complicated, even in the best of times]].
** Naruto was also this with his other teammate Sakura; he couldn't confess that he had a crush on her due to his promise to bring back Sasuke. {{Subverted|Trope}} when Sakura used this promise to kill Sasuke and [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim spare Naruto further emotional pain]] by giving him her [[NeverLiveItDown infamous]] [[FalseConfession fake love confession]] so he'd stop chasing him. Naruto easily saw right through her, [[WhatTheHellHero called her out on her dishonesty]], [[ShipSinking rejected her outright]], and stated that the promise was no longer the reason why he wanted to save Sasuke; he has [[TrueCompanions his own reasons]] now.
** As stated above, Naruto has this ''again'' in ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', this time concerning [[spoiler:his genuine [[OneTrueLove true love]] for Hinata]]. Sakura herself disputes the above example and helps Naruto realize that [[LovingAShadow his crush on her was more a product of his rivalry with Sasuke and how he wanted to beat out Sasuke at something for once than any actual romantic feelings]]--which was implied back in [[http://www.mangapanda.com/naruto/3/17 Chapter 3]]--while [[spoiler:his love for Hinata is sincere and real. Naruto ''does'' spit it out to Hinata in the movie, twice (compared to the ''years'' it took Hinata to spit it out two years ago). The first time he spat it out, it didn't go so well thanks to [[BigBad Toneri]]. However, after the FinalBattle, he [[GrowOldWithMe proposes]] to her and she happily accepts, the two enter a relationship, get HappilyMarried, and have two children]].
** In ''[[LightNovel/NarutoHiden Shikamaru Hiden]]'', Shikamaru gets [[LoveMakesYouDumb tongue-tied]] when he's trying to ask [[spoiler:Temari]] out to dinner.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Effectively {{invoked|Trope}} when Negi tries to ask his father's allies who his [[MissingMom mother]] is. Unfortunately, Rakan swore them to silence until he "acknowledges Negi as a man", seemingly so that Negi would have even more incentive to beat him in their upcoming fight.
** Naturally, it's then revealed with no build up at all, by a newly introduced character. It's later confirmed by Jack Rakan, in the same offhand manner:
--->'''Jack:''' Oh, by the way, [[spoiler:Arika]] really is your mother. See you later. ''(heads off to bathroom)''.
** But can you really stop there? The entirety of ''Negima'' is comprised of characters who can't spit it out. Nodoka, Yue, Chachamaru, Evangeline, Asuna, Negi, Kotarou, and a slew of side characters have relationships they refuse to act on, for reasons ranging from denial, feelings of unworthiness, fear of hurting others feelings, or amnesia.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]:
--->'''Kotarō:''' What's with her? All she's saying is, "L-L-L-L" over and over again.
%%** Also subverted early on by Nodoka, [[ShrinkingViolet the last person you'd expect]]. Which makes it all the more unfortunate (as revealed in the ''rushed'' ending) that she was rejected.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail would have been more open and sincere with each other.]]
* Every time Haru from ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'' makes an effort to say something genuinely nice or sincere to Tsurezure (or anyone else of a lower social status), she reflexively twists her words into something condescending. She gets a little better about it over time, and eventually does give Tsurezure a proper LoveConfession (after they've already been dating for a few months).
* Morei has this issue in ''Manga/OmujoOmutsuJoshi''. She has a hard time speaking her feelings to her childhood friend, Shouta. This is compounded by her attempt to appeal to him by going along with what she incorrectly thinks is Shota's fetish for girls in diapers. She stumbles over her attempt to declare her love for Shouta while showing him she's wearing one and accidentally convinces him ''she'' has the fetish as a result. In a later chapter, she fantasizes about trying again but can't go through with it.
* How anime fans (and indeed anyone with half a brain) react to ''Anime/OneStormyNight''. They keep saying the word "friend" but you keep thinking one of them should just blurt out the obvious.
%%* Dramatic example: ''Manga/PeachGirl''.
* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Ahiru can't tell Mytho that she loves him -- Not because of nervousness, but because she will ''cease to exist'' once she does. This becomes very troublesome in the first season finale when [[spoiler: Princess Kraehe offers to return Mytho's emotion of love, but only if she says that she loves him.]]
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'':
** Deconstructed: Sayaka Miki ''does'' have her chance to get together with an IllBoy Kamijou as her friend Hitomi Shizuki ''does'' ask her if she loves him. Sayaka's inability to just spit it out already makes her friend consider the answer is no. She has her reasons, yes, but still...
** Another example is [[NotGoodWithPeople Homura]]. She knows she loves [[spoiler:Madoka]], and is highly motivated by those feelings...but she can't express them without [[HeroicBSOD breaking down]] and sobbing incoherently (as seen in Episodes 8 and 12). This results in much confusion for [[spoiler:Madoka]], as Homura's ''actions'' indicate love but her ''words'' don't.
* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Much of the later drama happens because Fuutarou discovers that, five years ago, he met one of the Nakano sisters in Kyoto, and they made a promise to become top students. Said quintuplet [[spoiler:(later revealed to be Yotsuba)]] starts doing everything in her power to keep Fuutarou from learning the truth and even tries to get him to forget about her. As it turns out, this is all because [[spoiler:she instantly recognized Fuutarou when they meet again at the start of the series, but she feels ashamed that unlike him, she couldn't fulfill their promise. This is also the reason why she doesn't confess her feelings for him, [[InsecureLoveInterest thinking that she has no right to pursue him]], and after noticing that her sisters are falling in love with him, she decides to step aside to give them a fair chance too]].
* ''Manga/Reborn2004'' stars Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada, an UnluckyEverydude with a crush on his classmate Kyoko who Cannot Spit It Out. One of Reborn's first tasks in making Tsuna a suitable heir to the Vongola Mafia family is using his "Dying Wish Bullet" to make Tsuna confess his love to Kyoko. But in the end, she still thinks he was joking, and he has yet to convince himself to confess a second time.
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' has [[{{Tsundere}} Inner]] [[DefrostingIceQueen Moka]], who refuses to admit her [[EveryoneCanSeeIt increasingly]] [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan obvious]] affection for [[NiceGuy Tsukune]].
* In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', the entire cast tends to silently worry over important plot points or conflicted emotions rather than discussing it with the rest of the ensemble. Usagi sits and stews in wistful silence over her emotionally-charged interactions with the brainwashed Mamoru in the Dark Kingdom arc. Rei and Mamoru brood over their visions and psychic dreams without mentioning it to the others. In the Dark Moon arc, Mamoru doesn't tell Usagi or the others that he has been having chest pains and coughing up blood because he doesn't want to be a burden to them. Minako has been dealing with serious emotional and self-esteem issues in the Dark Moon arc too, especially since she was the only one who didn't recover her powers yet but she didn't tell the others until Minako finally shouted at them for constantly mentioning the Outers and forgetting everything Minako had did prior to.
* In ''Manga/{{Saki}}'', Nodoka desperately tries to cover up her feelings for Saki whom she keeps referring to as nothing but a friend--not to much avail, though.
* The foundation of pretty much all the tension and drama of ''Manga/WhisperedWords'' is based on Sumika's inability to tell Kazama that she loves her. Kazama [[SchoolgirlLesbians likes girls too]], and very openly... But Sumika isn't her type, and is petrified that a confession of love would destroy their friendship. [[spoiler:As of chapter 20, the tension is even more balanced on this, from both sides: Kazama is in love with Sumika as well, but doesn't know that Sumika likes girls (or even just her), so she is also terrified that confessing ''her'' love would tear them apart.]]
* The inability of various characters in ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' to confess their love, Harima's feelings for Tenma being the principle example.
* It's very obvious from early on in ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' that Miku is harboring romantic feelings for her best friend, Hibiki. Unfortunately, Miku can't bring herself to confess and Hibiki is [[ObliviousToLove far too dense]] to figure it out. [[spoiler:The final scene in the series has Miku finally work up the courage to presumably confess her love, with Hibiki replying that she ''also'' has something to tell Miku and hopes it's the same thing, but the series ends without any explicit confirmation]].
* ''Manga/SgtFrog'' spent an entire episode milking the trope, as Momoka's attempts to refer to Fuyuki on a first-name basis lead to increasingly absurd changes in the conversation.
* Shana from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' doesn't have a bloody clue how to talk about her feelings, particularly about why she's falling for Yuji. This, of course, drives her {{tsundere}} behavior towards him; since she can't spit it out, beating him up works too.
* ''Manga/ShesMyKnight'': It takes Ichinose an entire chapter just to ask Mogami for one of the muffins she baked, let alone tell her he likes her.
* Akina of ''[[Manga/ShinozakisanKiWoOtaShikaNi Don't Become an Otaku, Shinozaki-san!]]'' cannot spit ''anything'' out. She can't tell Kaede and Micchy she is more into fashion then otaku stuff, and she ''really'' can't say that she is in love with Kaede, especially to herself. This latter also causes her to have difficulty referring to Kaede by her first name.
* In ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', Yayoi decides to pull an April Fools prank, saying that she's going to get transferred to another school. It's all fine and dandy, except for one hitch - the person she told it to was Miyuki, who panics and begins spreading the news, spiraling into Reiko holding a farewell party with the rest of the class and Yayoi unable to say anything because the other girls keep putting words in her mouth. It isn't until Akaoni reveals the truth through a manga Yayoi drew and lost that the girls realize that it was a lie. They're pretty disappointed at her... until they realize it was Miyuki's fault for believing it in the first place!
* It took until the very last episode of ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' -- more than 2 years after it became painfully obvious to everyone -- for Misa (Lisa) to finally drop the L bomb on Hikaru (Rick).
* This is more or less Creator/RumikoTakahashi's S.O.P.: [[BelligerentSexualTension At least one member of the pairing must not be able to confess their feelings]]:
** ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''.
*** After spending most of the series calling Akane an "uncute tomboy", Ranma finally musters up the courage to tell her that actually, he thinks she's really cute -- and [[CassandraTruth then she doesn't believe him because she thinks he's trying to trick her]].
*** In one of the songs from the albums, "November Rain", the lyrics imply that Ranma is incapable of letting anyone, even himself, know what his true feelings for Akane are.
---->'''Ranma:''' I'm not being true with myself. Yes, I know, but I can't say those words.
*** Ryōga spends the entire manga obsessing over how much he loves Akane, but never actually tells her without being interrupted by something. to make things worse for him, the one time he spits it out, it turns out to be a MistakenDeclarationOfLove.
*** Akane is also guilty of this. In the arc where Ranma becomes Nabiki's fiance instead, Akane is jealous of Nabiki's ability to tell Ranma how she feels because she can't tell him so easily.
** ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'':
*** Ataru can't admit he really loves Lum because if he did, he'd have to give up his dreams of a harem. (It should be noted that this makes sense to no-one other than Ataru, given [[CasanovaWannabe his horrible luck with women]].)
*** Also during the second tag duel in the fifth movie, Ataru refuses to say that he loves Lum despite the stakes -- because under those circumstances the words wouldn't be meaningful.
** ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku'': Godai is openly in love with Kyoko, but is too wishy-washy to 'fess up. Kyoko is aware of this, but is conflicted both by a rich rival suitor and her inability to let go of her dead husband.
** ''Manga/InuYasha'':
*** Although Inu-Yasha and Kagome seem to have "reached an understanding" as to how they feel about each other, neither has been able to actually say the words, even to themselves.
*** Even worse, and more obvious is the Sango/Miroku quagmire, where one side can occasionally get their feelings out, but the other either locks up or [[MomentKiller spoils the moment]], though they did eventually get on the same page.
** ''Manga/OnePoundGospel'': Thoroughly averted with Kosaku Hatanaka, who's quite vocal about his wish to live with Sister Angela and have her as his girlfriend. Subverted with Angela herself; she likely ''could'' spit it out, if this didn't conflict with her wish to become a full nun.
** ''Manga/{{Rinne}}'': Rinne seems to figure it out fairly early on that he feels something for the main heroine Sakura, even if he isn't sure just what. However Sakura's straight face and calm attitude leaves him unsure as to how she feels and prevents him from saying anything even he worked up the courage to.
* ''Manga/TalesOfWeddingRings'': Sato and Krystal have been in love for ten years, but just can't tell each other. The series starts with Krystal leaving for her "home town," only for Sato to follow her through a portal to another world where she's about to enter into a magical ArrangedMarriage to some guy she's never met. She dodges this by marrying Sato instead. While initially Krystal insists that [[MarriageOfConvenience it's just a political marriage]] and they don't have to do anything, they quickly [[SubvertedTrope realize that's stupid, admit they're in love with each other, and treat their marriage as real]]. WordOfGod is that the manga was originally going to be a long case of WillTheyOrWontThey, but plans changed very early on. Of course, because Sato and Krystal have terrible luck, [[InterruptedIntimacy they keep getting interrupted before they can actually consummate their marriage]].
* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Connor is unable to bring himself to tell Lag that Gauche, whom Lag befriended while being delivered to Cambel Litmus, [[spoiler: was fired from his Letter Bee position after going missing]]. In a one-shot story, a woman's maid is unable to reveal herself as the person who had sent her the picture postcards, because she had been forced to sell the gift she had received from her future employer when the two were younger. One of Lag's Heart Bullets reveals the secret, which the woman takes well.
* In ''Anime/TekkamanBlade'', an early episode has D-Boy's transformation crystal being broken, forcing him to use a modified Pegas robot to transform into Blade. Late in the series, when he's losing his memory due to a DeadlyUpgrade, he forgets that his crystal broke and starts trying to transform on his own. Despite that he is searching the ground frantically and asking, over and over again, where his crystal is, Pegas refuses to say even something as simple is "I have your crystal, give me the command," instead uninformatively urging D-Boy to transform. Later, he dryly explains, "D-Boy refuses to access my Tek-Set function."
* ''Manga/ThoseWhoHuntElves''. All it would take to save the group tons and tons of trouble every episode is for somebody to approach an Elf and say "Hello, there. This might seem like an odd request but my friends and I are looking for fragments of a very important spell that's been imprinted on the bodies of five random Elf women. You don't happen to have recently found yourself with a strange marking on your body, have you? You HAVE? Great! Would you mind if we went to a quiet, private location to check if it's one of the fragments and remove that for you if it is?" Instead of, y'know, randomly assaulting and ripping the clothes off every one they come across.
* Kotetsu from ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' has this tendency to the point of it being a FatalFlaw. He doesn't like hurting people or worrying them with his own problems, and so prefers to keep unpleasant information to himself. This is a frequent cause of misunderstandings and leads to quarrels with both his daughter and his partner.
* ''Anime/TimeOfEve'' has robots who appear emotionless, but are revealed to secretly be RidiculouslyHumanRobots. Both they and their human masters [[FantasticRacism are not comfortable with this]]. Sammy in particular is a good example: she hides her concern [[spoiler:and growing affection]] for her master Rikuo, and is [[spoiler:afraid to be seen at the cafe even after he finds out she's a regular]].
* Played with in ''Manga/ToLoveRu''. In the first chapter, Rito plays it straight and then subverts it when he does finally confess to Haruna. Only for Lala to get in the way. It then plays the trope fairly straight for a time. However the reason changes from shyness to indecisiveness as he is no longer sure of his feelings. [[spoiler: As soon as he is sure of his feelings for Lala, he confesses to her immediately, then goes to confess to Haruna who he still loves, making it a subversion.]]
* In ''Anime/TomicaHyperRescueDriveHeadKidouKyuukyuuKeisatsu'', despite his usual egomania, Karigari becomes so flustered around Sasagawa that he is unable to confess his feelings to her. That or circumstances will interrupt him, like a spacecraft suddenly about to plunge down onto the city. Of course [[ObliviousToLove she has no clue]].
* In ''Manga/TonaGura'', would-be couple Kazuki Arisaka and Yuuji Kagura sometimes get so flustered by their obvious feelings that they cannot speak to each other at all, not out of anger, but out of trepidation. In one instance, where he has fallen on top of her (legit in this case, despite his immature tendency to grab at her), they are at this point so tongue-tied that a primal AccidentalPervert[=/=]{{Tsundere}} moment passes with only a few "Excuse Me"s -- and that's all.
* Completely averted in ''Manga/TonariNoKashiwagiSan''. Yuuto confesses his feelings to Kotone the same day as his LoveEpiphany (though it was technically by accident).
* Tatsuya and Minami in ''Manga/{{Touch}}''. He likes her and she likes him, and she even kisses and confess to him before the 20th episode. It still took over 100 episodes...
%%* Esther Blanchett and Ion Fortuna from ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood''.
* In ''Manga/{{Tsukigasa}}'', Kuroe and Azuma have this in regards to their feelings but also on the larger scale of failing to communicate exactly what happened in the incident where Azuma cuts off Kuroe's arm and all the fallout from that.
* In ''Anime/UmiMonogatari'', Kanon doesn't confess that she likes Kojima because she's afraid he'll reject her.
* This is suspected to be the case with Rudolf in ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''.
* In ''Manga/Yuria100Shiki'', Yuria can't tell Shunsuke how she feels about him, because she's SexBot and has no idea if her feelings are real or just part of her programming. Also because she doesn't really know ''how'' -- everything outside of "how to be a sexbot" she's had to learn on her own and is still very naive about most things.
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler: Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage,]] he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler: Yusuke's marriage proposal,]] which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler: Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought.]] Keiko's response? [[spoiler: An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'':
** The latter part of Season 1 sees [[ShipperOnDeck more or less every other main character]] trying to encourage Fitz to first acknowledge his feelings for Simmons and then admit them to her. But every time he tries, she [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint thinks he's talking about something else]], and, when ''she'' confronts ''him'' with a question about his [[GreenEyedMonster hostility]] towards her other potential LoveInterest, he dries up completely until he manages to come up with another semi-plausible excuse. Even when they're both [[spoiler:expecting to die]], he still can't bring himself to tell her, but asks her to "let me show you" via an attempt at [[spoiler:a HeroicSacrifice so she can live]].
** Late in Season 5, after [[spoiler: May tells Coulson that she loves him]], Coulson repeatedly tries to reply and fails each time. One gets the feeling Coulson understands Fitz a lot better now.
* ''Series/BigWolfOnCampus'' has Tommy trying many times to make his obvious crush on Stacy known to her. While it's pretty apparent that she suspects this and likes him in return, kisses, dates, hugs, or other intimate moments are usually interrupted by Tommy turning wolfy (caused by feelings of extreme emotion) and thus forcing him to run away.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Subverted in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E7OnceMoreWithFeeling Once More, With Feeling]]", in which several "Can't Spit It Out" plot threads that could have been milked for weeks, if not seasons, are dragged into the open by a demon's musical curse.
** In Season 3's "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E7Revelations Revelations]]", Willow wants to admit something to Buffy--which gets interrupted by a fight. Then Willow lies to Buffy to avoid saying what's going on and it later nearly costs Willow her relationship with Oz. Could've saved a half a season's worth of relationship drama (and she helped break up Xander/Cordelia).
** Yet another example was Xander's crush on Buffy in the first season. It took the entire season before Buffy caught on to the blatant hints as well as Willow's crush on Xander.
** A different application of this trope occurs with the Spike/Buffy relationship in Season 6, which she conceals from the Scoobies because she's ashamed of it. Tara eventually finds out, but has to guess it from Buffy's expression. It's only when she says to her old flame Riley, "I'm sleeping with Spike," (even though he already knows, having caught them in bed together) that Buffy finds the courage to end their DestructiveRomance. When the Scoobies find out after the event, they're shocked, but generally supportive as they know Buffy has been going through a rough time.
** Buffy herself admits she has a hard time saying "I love you" to ''anyone'', likely due to how Angel's SuperPoweredEvilSide crushed her completely when she told him. The only other times she says it are to Dawn and to [[spoiler:Spike right before he pulls his HeroicSacrifice]].
* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'':
** The titular character averts this pretty hard, since he seemingly can't ''stop'' telling Sarah about how he feels about her, even though their relationship is supposed to just be a cover. Sarah, on the other hand, plays it very straight for the first two-and-a-half seasons.
** Sarah seemingly rubs off on Chuck in early season 3. Because it seems like they could save themselves about a dozen episodes' worth of heartbreak if they just got together and had one honest talk. Instead, they seem to be airing out their problems to just about anybody but each other. And because Chuck has to hide his secret from his family and friends, he can't even give them the full disclosure.
* A fairly dark example from ''Series/CoronationStreet''. The police arrive at Gail's house and she is annoyed at them for being there. They have a hard time breaking some news to her and she tells them to go ahead and "spit it out" so they can leave. It turns out they found her husband's body floating in a river.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** See also TheILoveYouStigma, as the series does not allow the Doctor to utter the words "I love you" to anyone on screen, leading to scenarios such as...
*** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion School Reunion]]": The Doctor tells Rose that he leaves his companions behind because he will always outlive them:
---->'''The Doctor:''' Imagine watching that happen to someone that you...\\
'''Rose:''' What, Doctor?
*** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday Doomsday]]", after Rose chokes out "I love you" to the Doctor (transmitted as a short-term hologram into the parallel world she's trapped in), it's his turn. "Since it's my last chance to say it... Rose Tyler--" And then the transmission cuts and he vanishes.
*** Even when [[spoiler:he gets a second chance to tell her]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd Journey's End]]", [[spoiler:the Doctor is too broken to say more than "Does it really need saying?"]]. However, [[spoiler:his part-human clone]] fares better.
*** Also in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit The Satan Pit]]", where it looks like he might finally ask another character to pass "I love you" along to Rose, the Doctor bails out at the last minute — in a very sweet way, mind. "Tell Rose– tell her... Oh, she knows."
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTImeLords Last of the Time Lords]]" subverts it, as although Martha doesn't say the words when she admits that she was in love with him, it's clear that the normally-ObliviousToLove Doctor knows exactly what she's on about.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E11TheLodger The Lodger]]": {{Everyone|CanSeeIt}}, including the ''[[CaptainOblivious Eleventh Doctor]]'', can tell that Craig and Sophie are interested in each other. But neither of them say anything until the events of the episode.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E8LetsKillHitler Let's Kill Hitler]]" reveals that this was a problem for Rory before we met him. In this case, Cannot Spit It Out + SingleTargetSexuality = the girl he's in love with [[MistakenForGay assuming he's gay]]. When [[RememberTheNewGuy Mels]] tries to get them together, he panics and runs out of the room before Amy catches on.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven Face the Raven]]", the Doctor appears to be on the verge of telling Clara about his feelings for her [[spoiler:as she prepares to meet her death]], but she cuts him off with a tender hug instead, telling him she knows what he's about to say.
** Especially during the Twelfth Doctor era, the writers have had the Doctor use euphemistic statements instead of straight "I love you", with three major examples occurring in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater Dark Water]]" (confirmed by the showrunner as meaning "I love you"), "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E5TheGirlWhoDied The Girl Who Died]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent Hell Bent]]". Clara herself has done this with regards to the Doctor on a few occasions, using alternate wording rather than a straight ILY.
* The first season of ''Series/{{Everwood}}''. One of the fundamental sources of Ephram's antagonism toward Andy is the latter's seemingly-inexplicable decision to uproot his family and move from New York to the eponymous little mountain town. We learn in Episode 1 that Andy did it because his wife made him promise before she died. Ephram even points this out in the season finale after Andy finally tells him (after they've worked out their differences): "You know, this would have been a lot easier if you had told me straight away."
%%* This trope caused a lot of problems between John and Aeryn on ''Series/{{Farscape}}''.
%%* ''Series/TheFastShow'': The Ted & Ralph sketches wouldn't exist without this trope.
* ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' has an example with Simon and Kaylee. Simon is rather distracted with protecting his sister, while Kaylee is concerned by the class divide. It is the source of much UST until the end of the Movie.
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'':
** Niles spends seven years pining after Daphne, his father's physical therapist and (default) housekeeper (in fairness, he does spend much of that time married). Despite trying to confess his feelings to her several times, his attempts are continually thwarted (usually owing to his own fear of rejection or, unwittingly, by Daphne herself). [[spoiler:He remains unable to give voice to his emotions until the eve of Daphne's marriage to another man, and even then only after learning that Frasier has already let slip Niles's little "secret"]].
** In the final season of the series Frasier and Niles's father, Martin, displays a similar inability to confess his growing feelings for his girlfriend, Ronee.
** After they finally sleep together Bulldog genuinely develops feelings for Roz but can't bring himself to admit it. He starts scaring off the men she tries to date so she'll spend more time with him instead. After Roz catches him threatening her latest date she angrily confronts him, assuming that his looking after her daughter and making her dinner were just him attempting to seduce her (which he's done before in the past). Bulldog finally admits that he's genuinely in love with her...but Roz doesn't feel the same way.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** Ross doesn't tell Rachel he loves her for the entire first season, chickening out every time the opportunity arises. This has the unfortunate result of Rachel only finding out from Chandler while Ross is on a trip to China, and when she realizes she loves him too, he's already met someone else there. Rachel herself then falls victim to this. She spends a good few season 2 episodes being unable to confront Ross about her feelings. It takes a lot of wine and borrowing a stranger's cellphone to spit it out properly.
** Subverted when Joey developed feelings for Rachel. His hesitance was more due to her being pregnant with Ross's baby (though they were no longer together) and he eventually did work up the courage to tell her.
** Inverted with Chandler's feelings for Monica--he Can't Hold It In. They are actually together, but are ''very'' cautious in moving forward, and vaguely describe their relationship as "being on London time", "goofing around", and "two friends who just want to spend more time together". At one point, he blurts out that he loves her and freaks out.
** Meanwhile, Monica knows she loves Chandler but decisively holds off saying so until ''he's'' [[CommitmentIssues ready]]. A justified case of this trope.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Sam, either because of his oath or his overall awkwardness, is unwilling to admit any romantic feeling for Gilly despite her less-than-subtle hints that his affection would be welcome.
* Almost every single thing that happens between Serena and Dan towards the end of the first season of ''Series/GossipGirl'' could have been avoided if she had just told him about Georgina.
* On ''Series/HappyDays'', Fonzie cannot bring himself to say "sorry" when he's done something wrong to someone.
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
** The second season could have been about fifteen minutes long if characters who were on reasonably cordial terms at the end of the first season a) remembered each other's phone numbers and b) bothered to discuss the, y'know, impending pestilent apocalypse with each other.
** The Mohinder/Bennet subplot was a particularly awful in this regard: Mohinder spends the entire season obsessing about the world-killing virus. Bennet waits until the second to last episode of the season, after their partnership has imploded and Mohinder has consequently ''shot'' him, to mention, "Oh yeah, the Company has been experimenting with that for decades."
** Season One has a number of more specific examples of this, with metahumans hiding their powers from others. Particularly notable are Nathan's constant lying to everyone about his flying (he doesn't even think to tell his ''[[GoodThingYouCanHeal invulnerable]]'' ''daughter'' what he can do), and the half-dozen or so times Claire tries to tell her parents (or, as she later admits, "trying to not tell" them) about her healing.
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'':
** Barney goes the entire fourth season without telling Robin he's in love with her, mainly because he's terrified she'll laugh him off because he's built such an infamous reputation as a shallow, womanizing sleazeball. He does tell Lily (who then tells Marshall) and Ted figures it out halfway through the season, but Lily and Marshall don't know Ted knows and vice versa, so all three of them sit on their hands in impatient silence for several months waiting for Barney to get a grip or Robin to get a clue.
** This also comes up in Seasons 7 and 8, again with Barney and Robin while they deny their feelings to themselves/everyone else, until they got together again.
** Back in Season 2 when Ted and Robin were dating, Robin tries to summon the courage to say "I love you" to Ted. She almost does, but at the last second, rather than uttering the three dreaded words, she blurts out "falafel".
* The last two episodes of the first season of ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'' has Bertie making several attempts to get Gussie to confess his love for Madeline Bassett. The first time, Gussie loses it just a little and starts rambling on about newts at length until Madeline, who is actually ''waiting'' for him to confess his love, gets fed up and leaves.
* On ''Series/LizzieMcGuire'', Gordo pines after Lizzie for the entire duration of the show. He nearly tells her several times, but falls victim to this trope. Lizzie ends up finding out from [[AlphaBitch Kate]], not Gordo. TheMovie finally gets them together.
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
** The episode where they all think Sawyer has Shannon's inhaler. If he just told everyone he didn't have it, there would have been no torture, but also no first Kate/Sawyer kiss...
** And then of course, the castaways ignore good advice that is spit out. Even by themselves. "Don't wander alone in the woods full of tree-smashing monster-thingies." Always good advice. But no...
** There is no character on ''Lost'' who is capable of completely summing up any event completely. They'll tell one mysterious event on an expedition, but will not tell the rest. They also never pull everyone at the crash site together to compare notes.
* This drives most of the entire story of ''Series/MadMen''. If Don Draper came clean about his "dark secret", then he would be able to straighten things out with his wife, stop looking over his shoulder generally, and would have saved his brother's life. Near the end of season three, [[spoiler:he ''does'' come clean to Betty about it, but only after she forces his hand by finding out about much of it herself. At the end of the season, it looks like they're headed straight for a divorce]].
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': It's Valentine's Day, and all Peggy wants is for Al to say "I love you". He'd rather have sex.
* In ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', most of the problems presented in each episode could be quite easily solved by briefing King Arthur as to what is going on. Somewhat justified because Merlin's magical abilities have to be kept secret, and displaying his knowledge in certain situations could lead to suspicion being cast his way. Also, on the occasions when he ''does'' try to warn people about some imminent danger, [[CassandraTruth they generally refuse to believe him]] -- even though he has been proven right again and again.
* Doubled down in "Tableau Vivant", a third-season episode of ''Series/ModernFamily''. Phil can't bring himself to tell Mitchell, his brother-in-law, that he's fired as the new agency's lawyer. Mitchell can't bear to tell Phil that he really doesn't like the work, which is in addition to his regular job.
* One of the worst ongoing examples is from ''{{Series/Monk}}''; the title character has obsessive-compulsive disorder, but it's almost never mentioned, even when it would help. On one occasion, he shook hands with two white women, then a black guy, then asked his assistant for a wipe, like he frequently does. The black guy assumes Monk is racist, and explicitly asks him if he has any excuse. They tried to say Monk wasn't racist with Natalie saying "He loves Rainbows!" and Monk doing a rainbow-type of a hand motion.
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' has a skit called "Miss Annie Elk" wherein the title character experiences a prolonged coughing fit whenever she tries to tell the host her theory on a certain dinosaur. [[spoiler:[[TheUnreveal This being Monty Python, the theory isn't exactly earth-shattering.]]]] It was also included in the Pythons' farewell special, ''Film/MontyPythonMostlyLiveOneDownFiveToGo''.
* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': It's pretty clear to anyone that Murdoch likes Dr. Ogden, but he cannot get himself to say it. When he tries to propose to her late in "The Murdoch Sting", he still has this problem [[LiquidCourage (despite having had a fortifying drink of Brackenreid's scotch beforehand)]]; he stops himself and starts again when he tries to ask the question before [[InterruptedDeclarationOfLove Julia stops him and flees into her house]].
* ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' does this with Jim and Pam, with Jim not revealing his feelings for Pam. In one episode, Jim has been jinxed into not speaking and Pam tries goading him into talking (and thus, losing the game): "It looks like you have something to say." Cue longing look that says more than words could. [[spoiler: He eventually spits it out in the season two finale.]]
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', a number of times characters try to make confessions to others but are unable to finish.
** David's unsuccessful attempt to confess to Kathryn that he and Mary Margaret were having an affair.
** Emma tries to take back her lie to Henry about how his father died, but can't bring herself to do it.
* In one episode of ''Series/{{Psych}}'', [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Henry]] is given fifteen seconds to deliver a final message to [[WellDoneSonGuy Shawn]] in the hypothetical situation of dying in a plane crash (like the victim of the episode). He stumbles over his words until the fifteen seconds are up. Only after Shawn stalks out does he string together "I love you."
* A lot of problems in the show ''Series/{{Reaper}}'' come from Sam's inability to tell Andi about his problem with the devil.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' has the standard episode about TheILoveYouStigma in Season 6, but later inverts it with Season 7's storyline about George's engagement to Susan, which instead boils down to his inability to go through with the breakup conversation. Since his various backwards PleaseDumpMe measures have no effect, the problem turns out to literally only be resolvable by [[spoiler:[[DeathAsComedy Susan's sudden death]].]]
-->'''George:''' ...I can't face that scene. You know what kind of scene that would be? I'd rather be unhappy for the rest of my life than go through something like that. I CAN'T, I CAN'T. I tried to psyche myself up a million times, I cannot go through that.
* Inverted when Lisa Landry met Terrence in ''Series/SisterSister''. Lisa ''did'' spit it out to Terrence when meeting him. Unfortunately for both her and Terrence, it was the wrong kind of "spit it out."
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Many problems befalling the characters stems from Clark's refusal to tell anybody about his powers (though Clark's fear is quite justified considering that superpowered individuals and their loved ones tend to get targeted by government conspiracies and mad scientists in the SV-verse).
%%* If it weren't for this trope, there would be no ''Series/SportsNight''. Every character on that show is far too busy talking and having emotions to ''f#&%ing communicate'' with each other.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
** Odo spent the better part of a decade in love with Kira without ever being able to confess his feelings to her (well, unless you count [[spoiler:his AnguishedDeclarationOfLove to what turned out to be a changeling that had taken Kira's form]] or the [[spoiler:confession made by a 200-year-older future Odo in "Children of Time")]], to the point that when he finally does Jadzia comments [[LampshadeHanging "It was about time"]].
** The subplot of the Season 5 episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E16DrBashirIPresume Dr, Bashir, I Presume]]" involves Rom attempting to confess his love for Leeta, only to repeatedly chicken out. For her part, she feels the same way, but mistakes Rom's timidity for lack of interest. In the final scene, as Leeta's about to leave [=DS9=] with Zimmerman, Rom finally tells her how he feels. Much to Zimmerman's disappointment, she returns Rom's affections and decides to stay.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Gravity", Tuvok is stranded on a planet with an alien woman who falls in love with him. However Tuvok is HappilyMarried and as a Vulcan has been raised to believe that LoveMakesYouCrazy, so he refuses to admit to any affection on his part. Fortunately Vulcans have the ability to MindMeld, which he does at the end of the episode to share his true feelings.
* In ''Series/StrangerThings'':
** Mike gets pretty easily flustered telling Eleven how he feels about her, to the point that Mike cannot even say the word "love" around Eleven. In the first season finale, Mike is explaining to Eleven how she'll be a member of his family, with his older sister Nancy as one to her, but he doesn't want to be like a brother to her, so to explain, he instead kisses her. Eleven's face lights up in absolute delight afterward. In Season 3 [[spoiler:after getting back together following a temporary break up]], Mike gets into an argument with Max and Nancy about El overtaxing her powers to find [[BigBad the Mind Flayer]], and in a rush of emotion finally admits that he loves her. However, since El had been in the other room at the time, she didn't hear him. [[spoiler:At least, that was what Eleven let Mike believe; in the season finale Eleven reveals that not only did she hear Mike, she also loves him.]]
** Jonathan, being an aloof introvert, is unable to spit out that he's got a crush on Nancy. Likewise, Nancy is unable to admit after season 1 that she's got feelings for him. They're so blatantly dodgy around the subject that [[ShipperOnDeck Murray Bauman]] has to push them to act on their feelings.
* On ''Series/TeenWolf'', Derek spends a sizable chunk of the first season being a creepy, cryptic lurker and leaving Scott believing that he is the one that turned him into a werewolf. He also could have been more forthcoming with details about what Allison's family does.
* In ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', if Riley talked to John, John talked to Sarah, Derek talked to either of them, Sarah told people where she was going OR they just had a nice, normal family dinner once in a while, they would figure out in about 5 seconds that Jesse was holding Riley hostage, that she had pretended to be a school official to get info on John, was lying to Derek and is not on their side. Instead they remain oblivious and one of them gets killed.
* In ''Series/ToLoveAndDie'', Hildy tracks down her estranged father, stalks him to his workplace, gets a job working for him, finds out he is a contract killer, follows him to and interrupts his latest hit, is consequently captured by his associates and interrogated on suspicion of being a rival contractor. One would think that the perfect time to finally reveal that she's his daughter would be when he has her tied to a chair and is demanding, on pain of death, to know who she really is, but even then, she manages to spend the entire interrogation rambling, and doesn't blurt out the truth until he's already given the order to kill her and is seconds away from leaving the room (fortunately, he listens).
* ''Series/TheUntamed'': Jin Zixuan with Jiang Yanli. It takes him several tries until he finally manages to tell her that he likes her. And he didn't exactly help matters by saying he doesn't want to marry her and getting into a fight with her brothers over it, only to change his mind later when he falls in love with her.
%%* On ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'', Stefan kept his secret of being a vampire from Elena in the beginning.
* ''Series/{{Velvet}}'': Ninety percent of Pedro's problems in the first two seasons would have been resolved if he could have just told Rita he loved her without five minutes of nervous babbling.
* In ''Series/Zoey101'', Chase spends 3 seasons pining after Zoey. In one episode, he tries to text his feelings to her, and her cell phone falls into a fountain. After Zoey finally finds out how he feels...he gets PutOnABus to England.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/TalesFromMuppetlandTheFrogPrince'' had a particularly silly version of this. The Princess's evil aunt places a spell on her where she is unable to speak straight. Despite trying her hardest to explain that "Tant Aminella" (Aunt Taminella) is the evil witch, no one catches on. Of course, this is aimed at kids, so no deep plots here (not bothering with spoilers tag since it's painfully obvious to anyone over the age of about... 8).

* The lynchpin of the ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' manga is [[NiceGuy Keiichi]] and [[MagicalGirlfriend Belldandy's]] [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan ironclad relationship]], and Keiichi's inability to blatantly express his love without help from a third party, even though Belldandy has no trouble at all with it. He was '''much''' [[CharacterizationMarchesOn closer to Bell in the early manga, though]], and seems to be getting better at it in recent chapters. It should '''also''' be noted that the trope is {{averted}} in the 1994 {{OVA}}, and in the 2005 animé's first season ([[SeriesContinuityError ...but ignored in the second]]), and both seem to be more popular and well-known among fans than the manga.

* Following Amity Blight's CharacterDevelopment in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' and eventually developing feelings for Luz, she doesn't have the heart to tell her how she feels, especially in "Wing It Like Witches" whenever they cross paths.

** Of course, this is entirely in-keeping with drow culture. Hell, in the few cases where drow ''have'' fallen in love, the relationship tends to collapse under the weight of suspicion. LoveHurts, especially when both partners have ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.

** Had Doran Martell told his plans to his nieces and daughter [[spoiler:that he wants to help the remaining Targaryens reclaim the throne as their revenge against the Lannisters, then Myrcella wouldn't have lost an ear and Ser Arys Oakheart wouldn't have died which would have prevented Qyburn in providing Cersei's Kingsguard champion for her upcoming trial]]. In fact, this is Doran's weakness which Ser Barristan Selmy acknowledged to [[spoiler:Quentyn Martell]] that had he revealed it earlier, [[spoiler:then Daenarys Targaryen wouldn't have stayed in Mereen and married to one of the nobles to stabilize the city, something which Quentyn came too late]].
** Likewise to his daughter, Arianne. Had she confronted him about the letter regarding her inheritance, then she wouldn't be brooding about it for years [[spoiler:which resulted to her failed coup, Myrcella's injury and Arys' death]].

* The first season of ''Series/{{Everwood}}''. One of the fundamental sources of Ephram's antagonism toward Andy is the latter's seemingly-inexplicable decision to uproot his family and move from New York to the eponymous little mountain town. We learn in episode 1 that Andy did it because his wife made him promise before she died. Ephram even points this out in the season finale after Andy finally tells him (after they've worked out their differences): "You know, this would have been a lot easier if you had told me straight away."

* In ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', most of the problems presented in each episode could be quite easily solved by briefing King Arthur as to what is going on. Somewhat justified because Merlin's magical abilities have to be kept secret, and displaying his knowledge in certain situations could lead to suspicion being cast his way. Also, on the occasions when he ''does'' try to warn people about some imminent danger, [[CassandraTruth they generally refuse to believe him]]--even though he has been proven right again and again.

** In the season three episode "The Terrible Two", supervillains the Mad Monkey and Jackrabbit team up. Upon capture, the two declare their love for one another, the Mad Monkey even forgoing his chance to escape since he can't do it without leaving her. The Flying Squirrel is utterly flabbergasted that they can just come out and say it.

* ''Theatre/{{RENT}}'': Roger spends much of the first act wanting to tell Mimi that the reason he's rejecting her is that he's HIV positive, but he's unable to muster the words; the closest he comes is saying there's [[ArcWords something he should tell her]] before abruptly shutting down. What he therefore doesn't find out until almost the end of the act is that Mimi is HIV positive too, making his concerns moot.

*** Cloud is convinced he used to [[spoiler: be a member of [[SuperSoldier SOLDIER]]]], and all evidence points towards this -- he has the uniform, the sword, the skills and the glowing eyes. However, [[spoiler: after leaving town to join SOLDIER, he failed to get in, and instead enrolled as a basic grunt. After a mission that took place in his hometown in which his idol Sephiroth, went insane and burned it all down, maimed the closest thing he had to a childhood friend, nearly killed his best friend, and stabbed him through the chest, he was patched up by EvilutionaryBiologist Hojo as part of an experiment. However, the combination of the drugs and trauma completely destroyed his mind, and when they escaped and his friend Zack died defending him he utterly snapped, adopting an elaborate system of FakeMemories and osmosed identity from Zack, who actually was in SOLDIER. And so Cloud relates the events of that day as if he was in Zack's position. Aforementioned childhood friend Tifa, is spooked by the fact that Cloud can tell the story accurately despite him apparently not being there. Little does she know that Cloud was with them on that mission, but disguised as a Shinra grunt. The discrepancy causes Tifa so much confusion, doubt and worry for what might happen if she confronts Cloud over this that she chooses to bottle up her concerns. The end result of this is when Sephiroth starts telling Cloud various half-truths in order to drive him insane, Tifa's lack of understanding of the situation finds her unable to refute any of Sephiroth's claims.]]

* Kaidan, at least in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1''. He shows interest in a female Shepard early on, but has difficulty spelling it out. The third game revealed that he had an even harder time spitting it out if Shepard is a man. Shepard being ObliviousToLove did not help. Shepard can call him on it, too:
-->'''Kaidan:''' You have something up your sleeve, Shepard? What am I talking about, of course you do. That's what I lo- appreciate about you.\\
'''Shepard:''' Galaxy in the balance and you trip talking to me.
* Amazingly subverted in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' when you are asked to betray your teammates and keep the genophage from being cured. If you attempt to inform your teammates to prevent the sabotage, the shuttle you're on suddenly hits turbulence and interrupts you, making it look like a straight example of this trope. You're given a second chance a couple of combat sequences later, and a third chance (to tell Mordin / Padok specifically) right before the curse is released.

* Used absolutely heartbreakingly in ''VideoGame/Prey2006''. Tommy asks himself in the mirror why he won't just tell Jem he loves her. He eventually does [[spoiler:after having had to kill her.]]
* An interesting example: It takes a borderline HeroicBSOD (or maybe VillainousBreakdown is better considering [[NeutralEvil the character]]) for Viconia in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' to admit that she loves the protagonist. She has no problem sleeping with him, but confessing love is trickier.
** Of course, this is entirely in-keeping with drow culture. Hell, in the few cases where drow ''have'' fallen in love, the relationship tends to collapse under the weight of suspicion. LoveHurts, especially when both partners have ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.

* Toward the end of ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'', Toadbert recovers his memory, and becomes frightened by the brothers? gathering the Cobalt Star shards, but runs away before he can tell anything. He tells the brothers to rub some dirt off the sketch he had given to them earlier, which reveals [[spoiler:the other Shroob Princess]], but gets turned into a mushroom before he can say anything else. Peach is about to tell the brothers about the Cobalt Shard before a flying saucer attacks, and misses several opportunities to tell them before Bowser pieces together the shards, [[spoiler:freeing the elder Shroob Princess]].
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 3'', Cyber-elf X seems to be hiding a very important piece of information to his best friend Zero (even though X doesn't have a problem revealing it to someone else; what were you thinking, X?!). ''It was the BigBad'' that revealed the secret behind Zero that X was trying to hide: [[spoiler:Zero is using a clone body and AxCrazy [[TheDragon Omega Zero]] is the original body]]. Naturally for Zero, he still doesn't care about it when he finds out.

* Sadira of ''VideoGame/VanguardBandits'' has a huge crush on [[TheHero the Hero Bastion]] that everyone can see(including him if the player chooses). If the player decides to go after [[MultipleEndings her ending]], she finally manages to work herself out to say it though.

* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** Not even remotely romantic, but the Arishok in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' is utterly unable to directly compliment people who are not followers of his religion outside exceptional circumstances, and even then he seems to understate a lot. One of the earliest 'compliments' you hear from his mouth is: "I have a growing lack of disgust for you."
** And on the romance side, Aveline's ridiculously awkward attempts to woo Donnic. In all fairness, she is his superior at this point, so it's not like she can just ask him out for a drink, but its still hilarious.
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' has a significantly less cheerful romance example: [[spoiler: Solas's]] inability to admit that [[spoiler:he is [[TricksterGod the Dread Wolf]]]] during his final romance scene is at least part of why he [[spoiler:[[BreakHerHeartToSaveHer breaks up with the Inquisitor]], and ultimately ends up leaving the Inquisition.]]
* In one of the saddest moments of ''VideoGame/Mother3'', Bronson brings news to Flint, the father of Lucas and Claus, but has trouble getting it out.
-->'''Bronson:''' ... I'm not sure what to say... But just stay calm and hear me out. I have good news, and I have bad news. Which do you want to hear first...? No... Let me start with the good news first. I picked up a giant [[spoiler: "Drago Fang"]]. It'll make for a great weapon. I figured you could probably use it. ...... As for the bad news... ...... The bad news is... ............ ...It's where I found the [[spoiler: Drago Fang]]. It was...... in your... [[spoiler: It was pierced through your wife's heart... ]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'''s Vincent can't spit ''anything'' out. As the game involves him getting into an unintentional affair, this causes some problems.
* ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'': Poor Naomi! Not only is she unable to spit out her feelings for Satoshi, but because of her {{Tsundere}} nature, she is unable to apologize when she knows she's gone too far, so neither her nor Seiko feel any better and they end up separating [[spoiler:which leads to Seiko's death]]. In ''Book of Shadows'', Naomi actually has a coughing fit.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'', this is pretty much the only reason that [[spoiler:Red and Elh aren't together by the end of the game.]] [[ShipperOnDeck Merveille]] designs [[spoiler:a virtual simulation to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] a RescueRomance to get them to admit their feelings, but [[InterruptedDeclarationOfLove the program ends too quickly and Red forgets what he was going to say]].]] There's also a minor, nameless female NPC who constantly tries to tell herself to spit something out to another male NPC. [[spoiler:Subverted when the guy just owes her some money.]]
* ''VideoGame/ImmortalSouls'' has John unable to bring himself to tell his LoveInterest Allison that he's a vampire, that he's the one who accidentally caused her brother's coma, or even just admit that he is in love with her. This causes him all manner of problems, as since he's a HeroicNeutral, both the bad ''and'' (ManipulativeBastard) good guys take advantage of the matter on a regular basis. As a result he's constantly forced to choose between keeping his secrets, protecting Allison, and/or going along with whatever scheme either side has cooked up for him.
* Rather sweet example in ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}} and the Pirate's Curse''. It's hinted by her older brother [[spoiler:and confirmed by her human soul]] that [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Rottytops]] harbours a secret admiration for the titular heroine and genuinely wants to be friends with her, but never gets around to admitting it.
* ''VideoGame/PretentiousGame'': [[PlayerCharacter The blue square]] is willing to climb mountains, leap cliffs, dodge fire, and use whatever is necessary in the pursuit of [[LoveInterest the pink square]]...but is also unable to confess his love to her.
* This drives the entire plot of ''VideoGame/EmilyIsAway''. You keep backing out of telling Emily how you really feel about her, and that leads to [[spoiler: her getting together with Brad, even after a brief breakup, and you losing the only other girl you showed interest in.]]
* Mipha from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' had multiple chances where she could have made [[ChildhoodFriendRomance her feelings about Link]] known to him but didn't. "The Champions' Ballad" reveals that the scene where the two talk atop Vah Ruta was originally intended to be when she would have presented the Zora Armor to him (the traditional method for Zora princesses to propose to their intended husbands), but she didn't. The scene where she was about to advise Zelda on awakening her powers is implied to be her admitting that she thinks about Link when using her healing magic, but she brings the topic up so haltingly that she can't get to that part before Calamity Ganon returns. And each time you fight against Waterblight Ganon in the Illusory Realm, she'll bring up the times they spent together and the Zora Armor but always stop short of saying she loves him; she'll even demand [[OutOfCharacterMoment in an uncharacteristically angry manner]] that he not read her diary, which ''does'' explicitly mention her love for him.
* PlayedForDrama in ''VideoGame/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyTheTelltaleSeries'': Rocket was in love with his deceased friend Lylla, but never told her because he'd always thought they would have more time together. This weighs heavily on his mind and, unfortunately, causes him to be totally unreasonable about the Eternity Forge. He can only see it as a chance to bring Lylla back and undo his mistake, not as the dangerous object it really is, and gets insanely pissed if you decide to destroy it.

* In ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary]]'', Feli finds Lemres and tries asking him out on a date. She struggles to say it and ultimately winds up asking for a "delicious" Puyo battle from him instead.
* In ''VideoGame/RhythmDoctor'', there are two young patients named Logan and Hailey who obviously love each other, but cannot bring themselves to say it.

* In ''VisualNovel/ShinyDays'' nobody can ever say anything important when it would be appropriate. Surprisingly given the genre, the one who's worst about this is actually Setsuna ''after'' she's started dating Makoto. She never takes the opportunity to tell Kotonoha that she's dating Makoto even though Kotonoha is one of the girls nice enough to instantly back off if her crush is taken. She also won't tell Makoto that the new substitute manager at Radish is her father, not her ex boyfriend. While Makoto's reaction is way overboard and rather dickish, the whole problem could have been resolved if she could just say four simple words: "Shun is my dad."
* Most of the problems in the last act of ''VisualNovel/PhantomOfInferno'' could have been solved early on if Reiji had done what most normal people would have done and greeted [[spoiler: Cal]] as joyfully and warmly as what he had expressed in his monologue and explained to her why he ran instead of using the opportunities that she gave him to speak to be confrontational and non-expressive. ([[spoiler: "...Leave Elen out of this." "Cal..." "..." "Wait, Cal!" etc., etc., etc.]]) Made doubly frustrating because she approached him looking for an excuse to drop her vendetta.
* A few of the minor spirits never seem to get around to telling Yuuto how they feel in ''VisualNovel/AseliaTheEternalTheSpiritOfEternitySword''. Unless they do it during the sex scenes, which aren't part of the English release. On a more important note, neither Kyouko or Kouin ever confessed to the other despite the two actually dating. Both have their own reasons.

* In ''WebAnimation/XRayAndVav'', X-Ray has this problem towards his pal, Vav -- Vav's head over heels in love with IntrepidReporter Ash Samaya and X-Ray is both insanely jealous of him and insanely ''terrified'' of losing his pal to a girl. Vav is completely clueless to this (and other things) that he thinks that X-Ray's being an asshole with Hilda frustrated that the two just won't sit down and talk lest their egos clash. [[spoiler:Doesn't help that The Mad King used this against them.]] Thankfully, they get this worked out in the end.

* Eric (one of the ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'' webcomic's protagonists) has this problem with Alice, even after she told him she liked him. See [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130105075812/http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/142 here]].

* In the second part of the Love Potion arc of ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', Gwynn curses Torg by turning him into a half-man, half-donkey and causing him to bray every time he tries to say something important in order to make sure that he does not tell anyone about her plan. Unfortunately, while on a date with Zoe, Oasis arrives and abducts him, kicking Zoe in the face in the process. Under the curse, Torg is unable to tell anyone what happened, causing Gwynn to believe he mistreated Zoe, but he eventually manages to get Riff to find out the truth.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Rascals}}'', Reiko when she tries to tell Skye that she loves him on this page [[https://rascals.kemono.cafe/comic/rascals-pg-456/ here ]].
* ''Webcomic/RedString'' and Reika and Eiji. Despite the massive piling of sexual tension, despite Eiji beating the hell out of his former best friend for impugning her honor, despite even getting a book cover together, it took ''thirty-seven'' chapters for them to become a couple, although it was obvious that they were going to hook up as early as the third or fourth chapter. The situation was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Fuuko asked Miharu point blank if they'd hooked up yet and a weary Miharu answered in the negative.

* Dave and Helen from ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'' gradually become attracted to each other. [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/narbonic/series.php?view=archive&chapter=10117 This week]] of strips gives you a good idea of their relationship. Eventually, they [[spoiler: end up together]]. Then [[spoiler: break up.]] Then [[spoiler: almost destroy the world.]] Then [[spoiler: get back together.]] Then [[spoiler: plot to destroy the world together.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Sakana}}'', Jiro, who is already unlucky enough, simply can't build up his courage to talk to "Cashier Girl" , who is working across from him and who he's been in love with for two years without even knowing her name. [[spoiler: They do go on a date together after some time,]] but only after Jiro had some help from his big brother and his best friend.

* Oh dear. Lucy from ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl'' spends YEARS - both in-world and in real life - trying to come to terms with her feelings before she finally announces how she feels. [[spoiler:Disappointingly, she left it just a bit too late.]]
* In ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'' Nikodemus keeps delaying informing Vita of his feelings for her even after a coworker has informed her of his very obvious crush. Her annoyance with his hesitation eventually leads her to turn her attention to Quixoto.
%%* ''Webcomic/Collar6'': Halo!

* ''Webcomic/TheDreamlandChronicles'': [[https://web.archive.org/web/20120624071935/http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/todays-dreamland-chronicles-550/ Silly girl just say something]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
** Jane has it so bad that even when the friend she has feelings for outright asks her whether she has a crush on him she panics and instinctively denies it, a rejection he takes at face value. Dirk theoretically averts this as he's apparently planning an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove towards the person ''he'''s in love with, but even he's been crushing on him for three years (to the point where his ''autoresponder'' seems to be trying to provoke him into action) and he's noticeably tight-lipped about the exact details, or even if he's really going to go through with it at all.
** Also, Nepeta never got around to telling Karkat that she liked him (though he does indeed know, and doesn't reciprocate), nor Kanaya with Vriska before she found out that Vriska liked Tavros instead and bitterly gave up. Karkat and Terezi seemed to have similar problems.
** Eridan also was this. He's in a moirallegiance with Feferi, and their dialogue implies that they've know each other for a long time. But their moirallegiance goes badly, and by the time Eridan's got up the courage to confess that his feelings for her are romantic, Feferi wants to break up with him and is too emotionally exhausted to consider a romantic relationship.
** Karkat has a great deal of trouble spitting out tragic events to his friends, such as [[spoiler:the deaths of some of the other trolls]] and [[spoiler:Gamzee going insane]].
* ''Webcomic/SplitScreen'': Jeremy wouldn't confess his feelings for Jan because [[spoiler: he feels he's not good enough for her and he'd hold her back on her career path.]] She's too stubbornly prideful to just ask him how he felt. This went on for more than a decade.
%%* ''Webcomic/SquidRow'': Mouse
* A fair chunk of the early portion of ''Webcomic/TheirStory'' focused on [[SchoolGirlLesbians Sun Jing's]] efforts to befriend the girl she has a crush on, Qiu Tong. She loses her nerve and [[EpicFail ends up walking away after stammering out a "hi" each time]], and her suspicious behaviour causes Qiu Tong avoid her, out of fear that Sun Jing wants to beat her up. [[spoiler: This lasts until chapter 81 when Sun Jing finally confesses to Qiu Tong and makes her romantic interest clear.]]
%%* ''Webcomic/WoodenRose'': [[http://www.woodenrosecomic.com/comic/chapter1/25.html Lillian]]

* ''Webcomic/DrFrost'': As the story develops, TheWatson character Yoon develops an obvious crush on the SherlockHomage character of Frost, which is made clear in every way except a straight confession.
* ''Webcomic/{{Nightvee}}'': Creamarina has a crush on Nightvee, but she's too shy to tell him about it.

%%* There's just ''so'' much of this in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' stories, but of course that is a TeenDrama.

* In ''Literature/EntirelyPresentingYou'', Alexis can't tell her closest family and friends about her secret-identity as the bloodsucking-superhero known as Blank Face.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': Percy [[spoiler:Vex'Ahlia]] dance around this for ''70+ episodes!'' He builds stuff for her and calls her his "favorite," while she gives him kisses on the cheek in return for the projects he builds for her and calls him "dear," but neither of them tell each other about their feelings because of the trauma in their pasts. He thinks he's no good for her, and she thinks she's below his station. Not until [[spoiler:Percy dies in Episode 69]] does she confirm her feelings, and he doesn't hear them then. [[spoiler: He spends the next two episodes only just then considering telling her, and then gives her TheBigDamnKiss to end Episode 72.]]
* ''WebVideo/{{Jreg}}'': In ''The Mental Illnesses'', [[spoiler: Anxiety tries to confess to Depression in "The Mental Illnesses 4", possibly an InterruptedDeclarationOfLove.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Anxiety''': Depression, people really care about you. ''I'' care about you. I... I might even l...lo--...l--.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'':
** Amy Rose's ''Boom'' counterpart, like [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog the main universe version]], is in love with Sonic. But Boom!Amy tries to keep this to herself rather than obviously fawn over him. In "Translate This", Amy is actually visibly horrified when the Universal Translator nearly blurts out her crush for her, so she smashes it with her hammer.
** In "Fortress of Squallitude", after the team comes to rescue Amy from Eggman's lair:
---> '''Sonic:''' We might have a hard time saying it, Amy, but... ''(disengaged)'' well you know.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':
** In the episode "Fools in April", after Squidward has played a prank on [=SpongeBob=], he realizes how much he's humiliated him and goes to his house to apologize... but because of his despise toward him, every time he tries to say "I'm sorry", he just can't pull it off without doing weird cartoon-takes.
** In "Krusty Love" Mr. Krabs becomes enamoured with Mrs. Puff when he saw her in his restaurant. [=Spongebob=] encourages him to ask her out, but he is unable to form any real words and needs [=Spongebob=] to "translate" for him.

* Following Amity Blight's CharacterDevelopment in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' and eventually developing feelings for Luz, she doesn't have the heart to tell her how she feels, especially in "Wing It Like Witches" whenever they cross paths.
* Try as she might, Isabella from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' can't work up the courage to tell Phineas how she really feels about him. [[spoiler: He can't tell her either.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' episode "Good Times, Bat Times", Chip tries to reveal his feelings to Gadget. Twice. He always fails.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'', not only are Nara and Marsala both unable to express their feelings for each other, they each have instances where they unknowningly slap the other down.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', it's a cute RunningGag between Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 3.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' does this a lot when it comes to Patty. [[TwiceShy She can't spit it out, either.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Aang. Oh, Aang. Someday you'll be able to tell Katara how you feel. [[spoiler: Naturally, that time was the end of the GrandFinale.]]
%%** His predecessor, Avatar Roku, apparently had the same problem as seen in a flashback.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', potential couple [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]] and [[ComicBook/TheWasp Janet Van Dyne]] suffer from this. [[spoiler:By the time Hank works up the courage to say anything, he goes unconscious right after saying the word "love". He doesn't manage to actually proclaim his feelings for Jan until after ''she'' goes unconscious.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutron'', Cindy and Jimmy do this with each other all the time, with a handful of SuspiciouslySpecificDenial thrown in for good measure. Especially Cindy in "The N-Men". She tries to calm Jimmy down by admitting her feelings for him, but goes "I l-l...I l-l-ll..." and then faints. Jimmy is understandably curious.
--> '''Jimmy:''' "L? L? Like? Loathe? Love? WHAT!?"
* [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''WesternAnimation/Thundercats2011'':
** When asked directly, young Prince Lion-O doesn't disclose that he saw a frightening vision in the Sword of Omens during a RiteOfPassage ceremony, both [[VaguenessIsComing unaware of its significance]], and all too aware of his father King Claudus's disdain for him as a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. CourtMage Jaga deliberately mentions that "[[{{Seers}} Sight Beyond Sight]]" exists, in an attempt to convince Lion-O that its safe to confide in him, which succeeds. Unfortunately, satisfied that Lion-O trusts him enough to tell him eventually, Jaga gives Lion-O an indulgent NotNowKiddo, to allow him to get back to a party. Unbeknownst to either of them, Lion-O's vision is very time-sensitive. The next evening, too late to do anything, Lion-O realizes he saw ancient OutsideContextProblem and BigBad Mumm-Ra.
** Also [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] with a SiblingTriangle subplot between Lion-O, his brother Tygra and shared LoveInterest Cheetara. Rather than explicitly state that they both have feelings for her and asking if she reciprocates, they [[InvokedTrope complicate]] matters by treating their interactions as ([[SiblingRivalry yet another]]) passive-aggressive competition, hoping she'll give an indication of "choosing" one of them eventually. In "Between Brothers" Cheetara finally understands the extent to which the pair have been feuding over her, and apologizes for [[PlayedStraight playing this trope straight.]] She admits that she's [[AllLoveIsUnrequited also harbored unrequieted feelings]], confessing her love and kissing [[spoiler:Tygra, which is of course the moment Lion-O enters the scene.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'': This sums up Sprx and Nova's relationship fairly well, especially in Sprx's case; it's obvious he loves her, and comes fairly close to saying it a couple of times, only for something to interrupt or chicken out at the last second. In the final episode, [[spoiler: it's ''Nova'' who finally spits it out, in order to break Sprx out of his BrainwashedAndCrazy state]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'': Nathan Explosion has an "apology problem," in that he finds it hard to say that he's sorry for his actions. This turns out to be a actual physical incapability [[spoiler: during Roy Cornickelson's funeral: as he tries to apologize to Pickles, he stammers over the phrase and even ''vomits blood'' before he can finally spit it out.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ClassOfTheTitans'': Archie has this for fellow hero Atlanta, and pretty much [[EveryoneCanSeeIt everyone can see it]]. Theresa and Jay both have their moments as well until [[spoiler: the finale]].
* Crumley Coghweel was nebbish from a 1963 Paramount animated short subject who had been working in the secretary pool of Michigan Nuts And Bolts for 20 years. His boss calls him in and says that Cogwheel has never asked for a raise because he's too timid. He challenges Cogwheel to ask for a raise right then and there, but Cogwheel cannot spit it out. The boss gives Cogwheel a week to summon the courage to ask for a raise or else he'll be fired. On the last day, Cogwheel finds the courage: he gets drunk.
* Carrie to Devin in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' for most of the series until [[spoiler: she gives up on him and decides to just focus on the competition. Which happens just in time for him to realise he's in love with her and suffer from this trope as well!]]
* The titular heroine of ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' suffers from a combo of this and an UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo with her crime fighting partner, Chat Noir. What makes it ''really'' frustrating is that [[ClarkKenting their identities]] [[PaperThinDisguise are only covered by a]] DominoMask for each of them -- it kinda makes you want to go inside the TV and tell them yourself.
* Helga in ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' in regards to her crush on the title character. She does finally admit it in ''Hey Arnold! The Movie'', but the two later agreed that it was just "the heat of the moment".
* Initially played for laughs, then played for drama in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' episode "Jedi Night". Hera, who is a bit delirious due to being given a TruthSerum while being interrogated by the Empire, spends the entire episode trying to tell Kanan something while he breaks her out of jail, only to BaitAndSwitch to something silly ("I have to tell you something... [[ImportantHairCut I hate your hair.]]"). At the end of the episode, she finally manages to tell him that she loves him... [[spoiler:and then [[HeroicSacrifice he dies]] right afterwards]], leading to her anguishing over why didn't she tell him sooner. The GrandFinale later heavily suggests, however, that she was trying to tell him something ''else'' — [[spoiler:she's pregnant]].
* PlayedForLaughs on ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'', as Elfo has an unrequited crush on Bean, but always deflects when asked directly.
-->'''Luci:''' Just say "Bean"! You wanna watch the sunrise with Bean!\\
'''Elfo:''' Stop saying what I mean!

%% Zero Context examples are commented-out. Please do not re-add without adding context.

* This is more or less Creator/RumikoTakahashi's S.O.P.: [[BelligerentSexualTension At least one member of the pairing must not be able to confess their feelings]]:
** ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''.
*** After spending most of the series calling Akane an "uncute tomboy", Ranma finally musters up the courage to tell her that actually, he thinks she's really cute -- and [[CassandraTruth then she doesn't believe him because she thinks he's trying to trick her]].
*** In one of the songs from the albums, "November Rain", the lyrics imply that Ranma is incapable of letting anyone, even himself, know what his true feelings for Akane are.
---->'''Ranma:''' I'm not being true with myself. Yes, I know, but I can't say those words.
*** Ryōga spends the entire manga obsessing over how much he loves Akane, but never actually tells her without being interrupted by something. to make things worse for him, the one time he spits it out, it turns out to be a MistakenDeclarationOfLove.
*** Akane is also guilty of this. In the arc where Ranma becomes Nabiki's fiance instead, Akane is jealous of Nabiki's ability to tell Ranma how she feels because she can't tell him so easily.
** ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'':
*** Ataru can't admit he really loves Lum because if he did, he'd have to give up his dreams of a harem. (It should be noted that this makes sense to no-one other than Ataru, given [[CasanovaWannabe his horrible luck with women]].)
*** Also during the second tag duel in the fifth movie, Ataru refuses to say that he loves Lum despite the stakes -- because under those circumstances the words wouldn't be meaningful.
** ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku'': Godai is openly in love with Kyoko, but is too wishy-washy to 'fess up. Kyoko is aware of this, but is conflicted both by a rich rival suitor and her inability to let go of her dead husband.
** ''Manga/InuYasha'':
*** Although Inu-Yasha and Kagome seem to have "reached an understanding" as to how they feel about each other, neither has been able to actually say the words, even to themselves.
*** Even worse, and more obvious is the Sango/Miroku quagmire, where one side can occasionally get their feelings out, but the other either locks up or [[MomentKiller spoils the moment]], though they did eventually get on the same page.
** ''Manga/OnePoundGospel'': Thoroughly averted with Kosaku Hatanaka, who's quite vocal about his wish to live with Sister Angela and have her as his girlfriend. Subverted with Angela herself; she likely ''could'' spit it out, if this didn't conflict with her wish to become a full nun.
** ''Manga/{{Rinne}}'': Rinne seems to figure it out fairly early on that he feels something for the main heroine Sakura, even if he isn't sure just what. However Sakura's straight face and calm attitude leaves him unsure as to how she feels and prevents him from saying anything even he worked up the courage to.

* The lynchpin of the ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' manga is [[NiceGuy Keiichi]] and [[MagicalGirlfriend Belldandy's]] [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan ironclad relationship]], and Keiichi's inability to blatantly express his love without help from a third party, even though Belldandy has no trouble at all with it. He was '''much''' [[CharacterizationMarchesOn closer to Bell in the early manga, though]], and seems to be getting better at it in recent chapters. It should '''also''' be noted that the trope is {{averted}} in the 1994 {{OVA}}, and in the 2005 animé's first season ([[SeriesContinuityError ...but ignored in the second]]), and both seem to be more popular and well-known among fans than the manga.
* ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'':
** The whole series would have been much simpler if Aoi and Kaoru could just tell Kaoru's [[TheUnwantedHarem Unwanted Harem]] that he was taken. Also much shorter. On the upside, it paves the way for Tina's crowning moment.
** Tina is another example. Her inability to confess her love to Kaoru before the series begins leads to her going on a year-long trip around the world, mainly to try and get over it.
* In the backstory of ''Manga/AizawaSanMultiplies'', the title character spent two years crushing on her classmate Souta Mizutani. She even named a cat after him because of it.
* In ''Manga/AoiKiseki'' the female lead Ageha is unable to interact with her beau without going full {{Tsundere}} and confessing her feelings out of sheer shyness. When she finally works the courage to do so, a nasty fall damages her brain, robbing her of her ability to speak. Ouch.
* Moe in ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'' had a crush on Misa for several years as of PresentDay, but she didn't have the confidence to confess to the latter until Mikage encouraged her to.
* Mikasa from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', has been in love with Eren since they were kids, but he remained completely [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] to it and she resigned herself to loving him from afar. [[spoiler: Come Chapter 123, Eren asks her out of nowhere what exactly he means to her and Mikasa, completely blindsided, stammered out that he was her family. She would later come to see this moment as one of her greatest regrets, especially considering the path that Eren went down shortly after this encounter...]]
* Kaorin of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' can't do anything about her crush on the resident HugeSchoolgirl, as she becomes so [[LoveMakesYouCrazy flustered]] around Sakaki that it's amazing that she can talk at all.
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' brings this to the logical conclusion. [[spoiler: [[CatGirl Hanekawa]]]] never confessed her feelings towards [[ObliviousToLove Araragi]] [[UnLuckyChildhoodFriend despite knowing him for years]], so he gets taken away by [[spoiler:Senjougahara]] who confessed to him not long after realizing her own feelings. Araragi never realized this [[spoiler: until the cat possessing Hanekawa spit it out to him]].
* In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', Moritaka Mashiro's uncle Nobuhiro was in a correspondence with his classmate Miyuki Haruno (Miho's mother) for years, but was unable to confess his feelings to her until he was able to make a living off of manga, wanting to date her with the intent of marrying her and feeling unable to do so considering her rising to become the secretary to her company's president. Miyuki eventually fell in love with another man and had children, as while she felt the same about Nobuhiro, she was unable to wait any longer. Kaya's father notes that Moritaka and Miho admitting their feelings to each other is the crucial reason why their relationship will have a different outcome.
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler: the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler: Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after.]]
* ''Manga/BGataHKei'':
** [[TheNondescript Takashi Kosuda]] has moments of this when trying to express his feelings for the series protagonist, [[LovableSexManiac Yamada]]. [[spoiler: When he finally works up the courage to confess his love to her, his message is garbled by train doors closing ''on his neck'' before he is whisked away.]]
** Yamada is worse. She and Kosuda start dating at about chapter 20. Kosuda finds this out about 200 chapters and almost two in-universe years later.
* The fact that the two sisters Asu and Kyou from ''Manga/BinbouShimaiMonogatari'' love each other a lot can't prevent them from communicating poorly on a regular basis, making them run in panicky circles where a few choice words would have helped immensely. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BinbouShimaiMonogatari1.jpg But the making-up hugs are cute indeed]]. [[{{Squee}} Awww...]]
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'': Haji. Poor Haji loved Saya for the entire series but he remains the stoic quiet guy. For centuries, ever since a young Haji saw Saya in 1870, he pined away but he never tells her until the very last episode at the very last moment when [[spoiler: Saya is trying to kill Diva's babies and wants to die herself - and even then he only coughs it up when Kai forces him to. Of course, a few minutes later Amshel shows up and wrecks their moment, leaving Haji buried in rubble.]] Just think how much better Saya's life would be if he had said it sooner.
* Hagino in ''Manga/BlueDrop'' for the largest part doesn't tell Mari that she is the commander of the space ship that caused the disaster in which Mari's parents died.
* In ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', it's hard to say that the plot would have changed had he told Rosette, but Chrono constantly dodges around telling Rosette about his past -- to the point that "one of these days, I'll have to tell you a story" practically becomes his CatchPhrase. The few times he ''does'' seem to be about to explain it, he's interrupted. In the manga, Rosette has to go into his soul and dig around in his memories to find out the truth.
* ''Manga/CityHunter'': Ryo. The one time he tried to declare his love for Kaori, he couldn't finish the phrase. Then Kaori accidentally blew up the building, preventing him from succeeding in his attempts at finishing the phrase.
* In ''Manga/Classi9'', [[spoiler:Bach]] has troubles dealing with discovering [[SweetPollyOliver Ren's gender]], so much he can't bring himself to tell her he knows.

* Although ''Anime/GunXSword'' begins with Wendy offering to marry Van as a reward for [[StandardHeroReward saving her hometown]], Wendy never confesses her deepening feelings for him, despite some good opportunities. Instead, her feelings for him are displayed mostly through GreenEyedMonster moments. [[spoiler: Her decision not to say anything when they part in the finale looks a lot like an AbortedDeclarationOfLove, but since they end up being reunited in the DistantFinale --at a time when she's actually old enough to be in a relationship with him-- things work out in the end.]]
* In ''Manga/HanaKimi'', Mizuki loves Sano, and Sano loves Mizuki pretty much from chapter 3 onwards. Also, that's about when Sano also finds out that Mizuki really is a girl. And neither knows about what the other knows until chapter 133.

** Another example is [[NotGoodWithPeople Homura]]. She knows she loves [[spoiler:Madoka]], and is highly motivated by those feelings...but she can't express them without [[HeroicBSOD breaking down]] and sobbing incoherently (as seen in episodes 8 and 12). This results in much confusion for [[spoiler:Madoka]], as Homura's ''actions'' indicate love but her ''words'' don't.

* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':
** Catarina has a large mixed gender harem, all of whom were ''supposed'' to be interested in each other in various ways. Since she thinks that they still must be into each other like they are in the game they were based on, she doesn't factor herself into the group's romantic interactions. All of them are trying to get her to figure it out by being indirect and get frustrated when she completely blows them off. Only Maria and Mary get close to actually spitting it out. For Maria in particular there is no excuse: The lines she gives are ones that Catarina ''knows'' would be a confession if they were said to anyone else.
** Catarina's parents, the Duke and Duchess, had one in the backstory. They both fell in love with each other [[LoveAtFirstSight at first sight]], but never ''told'' each other. Catarina's father basically proposed to her mother by going to her father instead, which he feels guilty about. In the original timeline, this eventually led to PoorCommunicationKills; the Duke adopted a boy with strong magic, who the Duchess assumed was his illegitimate child. She hated the boy and shunned her husband, becoming a bitter old shrew and contributing both to Catarina's villainy (as she was left to be spoiled by her father) and Keith's womanizing (because he was starved for affection). In the new timeline, Catarina's attempts to be nice to Keith result in the Duchess confronting the Duke about it. When she realizes Keith is ''not'' her husband's bastard, she becomes much nicer to him, and the Duke and Duchess [[SickeninglySweethearts enter into a honeymoon phase]]. They grow up as a happy, close family.
%%* ''Manga/VampireKnight'': Any interaction between Yuuki and Zero in the second arc may count as this. It's bad, in other words.
* ''Manga/TalesOfWeddingRings'': Sato and Krystal have been in love for ten years, but just can't tell each other. The series starts with Krystal leaving for her "home town," only for Sato to follow her through a portal to another world where she's about to enter into a magical ArrangedMarriage to some guy she's never met. She dodges this by marrying Sato instead. While initially Krystal insists that [[MarriageOfConvenience it's just a political marriage]] and they don't have to do anything, they quickly [[SubvertedTrope realize that's stupid, admit they're in love with each other, and treat their marriage as real]]. WordOfGod is that the manga was originally going to be a long case of WillTheyOrWontThey, but plans changed very early on. Of course, because Sato and Krystal have terrible luck, [[InterruptedIntimacy they keep getting interrupted before they can actually consummate their marriage]].
* Charlotte Roselei from ''Manga/BlackClover''. She has a very bad experience of this when it comes to the one she is in love with. When Yami only wants to ask her about the curse she suffered from, not only does she interrupt him but also ''runs away screaming'' when she thinks he is about to make her confess. Eventually, she admits her love for Yami to her squad and they are supportive about it, much to her surprise. But she's still completely unable to admit it it ''to Yami''. For added hilarity, he shows up to talk to her almost immediately afterwards.
* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Much of the later drama happens because Fuutarou discovers that, five years ago, he met one of the Nakano sisters in Kyoto, and they made a promise to become top students. Said quintuplet [[spoiler:(later revealed to be Yotsuba)]] starts doing everything in her power to keep Fuutarou from learning the truth and even tries to get him to forget about her. As it turns out, this is all because [[spoiler:she instantly recognized Fuutarou when they meet again at the start of the series, but she feels ashamed that unlike him, she couldn't fulfill their promise. This is also the reason why she doesn't confess her feelings for him, [[InsecureLoveInterest thinking that she has no right to pursue him]], and after noticing that her sisters are falling in love with him, she decides to step aside to give them a fair chance too]].

* Charlie Brown's inability to talk to the Little Red-Haired Girl in ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' was inspired by the rejection of a proposal to marriage Charles M. Schulz offered his girlfriend in 1947. The woman later married a fireman, the woman and Schulz remained friends for life, but Schulz was significantly affected by the rejection. UnrequitedLove was a constant theme in ''Peanuts''.
* In the 1990s Creator/MarvelComics series ''ComicBook/{{Sleepwalker}}'', Rick Sheridan finds himself unable to explain his sudden sleeping problems, caused by Sleepwalker being trapped in his mind, to his girlfriend Alyssa, mostly because he's afraid of how he thinks she'll react.
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** Peter Parker is unwilling to reveal his dual identity to his Aunt May, because he fears the shock will kill her, and later because he doesn't want her constantly worrying about him risking his life as Spider-Man. It became even worse when Peter wouldn't tell his first girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, the secret either. He never told Mary Jane while they were dating, either -- ''she'' had to tell ''him'' that she knew his secret.
** When May ''does'' find out and talks to Peter, it's [[Heartwarming/ComicBooks one of the most touching scenes in comics]], including the part where she specifically points out that she's a big girl and she won't just keel over, and that she ''will'' be worried, but he has her blessing. Unfortunately {{Retcon}}'d by ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay''.
** This is subverted in the ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan series, where Peter reveals that he's Spider-Man to Mary Jane in issue #13. Mind you, that's really early in the series [[DecompressedComic by Bendis standards.]] Then again, it takes him nearly a hundred to tell this to Aunt May.

* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': For most of his super heroing career, Captain Marvel Jr couldn't tell anyone his name, because it happened to also be his [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull transformation phrase]] (minus the "Jr"). He's now known as Shazam, having taken over for Billy Batson, who took over for the Wizard Shazam as guardian of The Rock of Ages.

* Happens several times in the ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme'' limited series. Sometimes it's sheer plot convenience, as a character is found withholding information that could've averted a problem later on. Other times, it's due to higher-priority instructions given during brainwashing...

* In ''ComicBook/MiniMonsters'', we have [[OfficialCouple Frank and Henrietta]]. They definitely love each other, but they can't tell their feelings because of [[TwiceShy shyness]]. Also, Henrietta's alter-ego Miss Hit does not help at all. Unsurprisingly, [[EveryoneCanSeeIt all people think they're a couple]], and Frank constantly [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend denies it]].
* One rare example in ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'' (rare because the elves tend to practise BrutalHonesty): Zhantee keeps his love for Leetah a secret, likely because Leetah is lifemated to their chief, Cutter. He's open about his respect and admiration for her, but never says that his feelings are romantic. When Cutter finds out, he tells Zhantee that they could have been a threesome ''centuries'' ago if Zhantee had only told him. Too bad [[spoiler: this is moments before Zhantee dies]].
* In ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' [[spoiler:Spike, when confronted by Nightmare Rarity, can't quite bring himself to admit his feelings for her. This is immediately lampshaded by Nightmare Rarity, who coldly mocks him for it.]]
* A magically-induced variation of this trope figures in the origin of ComicBook/DoctorStrange. When Dr. Stephen Strange was staying at the Ancient One's retreat, he discovered that the Ancient One's disciple Baron Mordo was trying to kill his master. Mordo found out and placed a spell on Strange, magically gagging him whenever he tried to warn Mordo's master. Recognizing Mordo's evil and the need to counter it, Strange offered himself as the Ancient One's new disciple. The first thing the Ancient One did was remove Mordo's enchantment from Strange, which he knew about all along ("A student can have no secrets from his master.")
* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': Odin does in fact love his sons Thor and, despite [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder everything]], Loki, but it would take a truly phenomenal effort for him to say it. He does eventually say it during ''ComicBook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'', much to the infuriation of [[spoiler:an older version of Loki, who bellows that Odin never said that to them]]. And seconds later Odin gets angry and refuses to say any more on the subject. He says it again to Loki later in that series, when they're in a ''very'' dark place (issue #11), together with a lot of other stuff fitting under VaguenessIsComing.

* ''ComicBook/TheBackstagers'': Beckett, for Bailey Brentwood. The subtext is that Beckett fears he'll be rejected for being trans.
* ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}'s buddy Billy Wintergreen hypothesizes in the ''[[ComicBook/DeathstrokeRebirth Rebirth]]'' series that Slade loves his kids more than anything in the world and is eaten up with guilt for not being the dad that they need but is too fundamentally broken to tell them that.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'': Poor Sally can't tell Jack that she considers him more than JustFriends.

* In ''Film/TheWholeTownsTalking'', Jones never mentions his undying love for Miss Clark--only when drunk.
* In ''Film/BlondeCrazy'', Bert can't express his feelings to Anne much to his detriment.
* The hero of ''Film/ShockCorridor'' experiences speaking impairment in critical situations as a result of the electroshock therapy he received.
* Used in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' to comedic effect. C-3PO notices that the hyperdrive motivator had been damaged by blaster fire and tries to tell Han Solo a few times. Each time Solo shuts him up, so when they try to escape from an Imperial Star Destroyer by escaping to hyperspace and the drives peter out, 3PO says the equivalent of "I told you so" and Solo gets a look of extreme embarrassment and moves off to fix the hyperdrive.
* Used rather movingly in ''Film/Batman1989''. Bruce tries to tell Vicki he's Batman, but he just can't bring himself to actually say it. When she walks away to answer the door, he disgustedly mouths "I'm Batman" to himself.
* Tragically used in ''Film/CrouchingTigerHiddenDragon''. Shu Lien and Li Mubai are deeply in love with each other and pretty much everyone knows, including themselves, but Shu Lien's first love and fiancé was actually Li Mubai's best friend, and he tragically perished in an event that Mubai still blames himself for. Therefore, to not shame the dead guy's memory, they can't act on their love. [[spoiler:And don't do so until Li Mubai is fatally poisoned and, in his last moments, he shares a LastKiss with Shu Lien.]]
* Averted in ''Film/GhostRider'': Johnny's love interest confronts him about breaking their date... so he tells her that he turned into a burning biker skeleton possessed by a spirit of vengeance. Naturally, she finds this preposterous, but when she sees proof that he was telling her the truth, she unhesitatingly steps up to help him.
* One of the protagonists of ''Film/BetterThanChocolate'' keeps starting to come out of the closet to her mother, only to have her mother interrupt, assuming she was trying to disclose something else.
* In ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack'': Jay's trying to figure out where their monkey's being taken. Silent Bob spots a sign on the back of the leaving car reading "Critters of Hollywood." Silent Bob gestures wildly to Jay, who can't figure out what the hell Silent Bob's saying. [[spoiler:Until finally...]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Silent Bob:''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis THE SIGN! ON THE BACK OF THE CAR! SAID "CRITTERS OF HOLLYWOOD!" YOU DUMB FUCK!]]]]\\
[[spoiler:'''Jay:''' Say it, don't spray it.]]
* In ''{{Film/Amelie}}'', the titular protagonist plays numerous games with her LoveInterest, ostensibly in order to whet his curiosity about her, but actually because she's [[ShrinkingViolet painfully shy]] and terrified of the prospect of actually making a connection with him. The two times she attempts to set up a meeting with him with the genuine intent of introducing herself to him, her shyness causes her to freeze up and she finds herself incapable of approaching him.
* In ''Film/GalaxyQuest'', when they couldn't stop the self-destruct countdown, Jason was just about to confess his feelings for Gwen... when the countdown stopped on its own at 00:01. ("It always stopped at 1 on the show!") Gwen then briefly chases him down, asking "What were you about to say?"
* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Quicksilver just can't tell Magneto that the latter is his father. Peter knows he'll say it to him some day, but just couldn't do it even when standing right in front of him at a moment where doing so could've convinced Erik to fight against Apocalypse sooner.

* In ''Film/MirrorMask'', Valentine is almost physically incapable of saying outright that he's sorry.
-->'''Valentine:''' If I was to say [[TongueTied s-s-something apologetic]]... it would reflect my feelings in this matter.
* In ''Film/WatchIt'', John can't tell Ann how he feels; the closest he gets is after she gets back together with Michael, and John says to her, "I don't know that I don't love you." He immediately realizes how ridiculous it sounds, and of course, she doesn't believe him either.
* ''Film/SeventhHeaven'': Chico has asked Diane to marry him, but she wants him to say he loves her first.
-->'''Chico:''' I can't, it's very stupid.
* In ''Film/AprilShowers'', Sean cannot seem to tell April he loves her. [[spoiler:And then she dies in the school shooting, meaning he'll never get the chance to.]]
* ''Film/{{Exam}}'': Poor Deaf has a terrible stutter, and he only speaks French. They're only able to understand parts of what he says.

* The fall and damnation of Satan, the eternal struggle between heaven and hell, and the loss of quite a few demigods is due to all the characters in ''Literature/ToReignInHell'' performing an extended dance remix of this trope.
* In ''[[Literature/HyperionCantos The Rise of Endymion]]'', the main character spends a great deal of energy angsting over a period of time that his love spent unaccounted for while he was off touring planets, having kidney stones, and eluding the Space Pope. No, really. He deduces that this time was spent with another man, and angsts accordingly. At length. Of course, he can't bear to ask her about it; otherwise she might have told him that [[spoiler:thanks to some time travel tomfoolery, the other man was ''him.'']] However, considering how much of the plot's pacing hinges on said lover's constant reluctance to give information that would explain anything to anyone, maybe not.
* In Creator/RobertJordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, all characters assume they know best. Each lies or hides the truth "for the greater good." The resulting confusion, interpersonal conflict, jealousy, and setbacks invariably stem from the main characters' inability or unwillingness to communicate. In the end, it turns out [[spoiler:all the good guys are on the same side!]] Who knew?
* A recurring theme in Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's books, where couples spend entire books (occasionally several) pining for each other until something forces one or both to admit their feelings. (See: F'lar and Lessa in ''[[Literature/DragonridersOfPern Dragonflight]]'', Afra and Damia in ''Damia'', Sebell and Menolly in ''Dragonsinger'') The most absurd example has to be in ''Dragonsdawn'', where Tarvi didn't tell Telgar he loved her until she was about to die... and they had been married for years and had several children.
* In the book ''Destiny'' (book 3 of the [[Literature/SymphonyOfAges Rhapsody]] series), dragon-blooded MartyStu Ashe cannot reveal the identity of his new wife to his soulmate, the equally [[MarySue sueish]] lead character, Rhapsody, for reasons that were never made very clear.
* ''Literature/{{Rebecca}}'' (Daphne du Maurier). [[spoiler:The heroine is convinced that she's a complete failure compared to Rebecca, her husband's first (dead) wife, until she finds out that Rebecca was evil and the husband never loved her and murdered her. Which cheers her up immensely.]]

* Sophie Hatter in ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'' by Creator/DianaWynneJones is cursed to take the form of a 90-years-old woman -- [[TongueTied and part of the curse is that she can't tell anyone]]. If she tries to, she's either interrupted or people misunderstand her.
* In ''[[Literature/BlackMaria Aunt Maria]]'', the protagonist Mig spends a good part of the book trying to convince her mother that [[spoiler:the evil Aunt Maria has turned Mig's brother into a wolf]]. The mother refuses to believe this and continues to insist that he's just around the corner, mostly because [[spoiler:Maria also enchanted the mother to basically hang around and be a housekeeper]].
* ''Literature/TheHomewardBounders'':
** No Homeward Bounder is allowed to tell anyone else still in play about what they really are, and who ''They'' are.
** Jamie also repeatedly mentions how well it turned out that he never tells Helen about Him On His Rock, though there were situations where he nearly did.
* In Creator/IsobelleCarmody's ''Ashling'', part of ''Literature/TheObernewtynChronicles'', Rushton and Elspeth love each other, but neither of them admit it until Rushton has an emotional breakdown and tells her that he thinks that she doesn't love him because he can't use his psychic powers, when she was actually ignoring him because she thought he was carrying on with Freya.
* In ''Literature/TheNameOfTheWind'', Kvothe finds himself unable to tell Denna how he feels, at first out of mischance (and her frequent, frustrating absences), but later it is because he fears he has nothing to offer her, and that if he were to pursue a romantic relationship with her it will end badly, as most of her relationships apparently do. Instead of trying to work up the courage anyway, he ends the book as an UnluckyChildhoodFriend. Of course, this is only the first part....
* Seregil from ''Literature/{{Nightrunner}}'' takes at least a book and a half to spit out anything: [[LockedOutOfTheLoop the secret of his protege's heritage]], his true feelings for his protege, his own [[DarkAndTroubledPast murky past]]....

* Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs used this trope a lot. His character's justification was usually that they thought the other person already knew, or that they didn't realize the information was important. Unless it's love, in which case ObliviousToLove generally covers it. This results in these situations:
** In ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars A Princess of Mars]]'', although aware of the CultureClash, Dejah Thoris is so offended by John Carter than she declares him unfit to clean the teeth of her grandmother's cat. Later, when he finds that she is crying, believing him dead, he talks with her companion, saying that Dejah Thoris is distressed that her grandmother's cat would have no one to clean its teeth.
** A character fighting alongside another for several days before realizing the other character is his long lost father (''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars The Gods of Mars]]'').
** A woman [[ThePromise accepting a marriage offer]] from the RomanticFalseLead because she thinks TheHero should have told her he loved her. And when she's been kidnapped, and the hero has helped her, she coldly declares that how he acts in the future will determine what she thinks of him. A little hurt, he manages to shrug, and it's her turn to be hurt -- he has to know that she is [[IGaveMyWord honor-bound]] not to encourage him.
** A man in love with a woman thinking she's already married because she mentions she loves another man when really she's just talking about how she loves her brother (''Literature/{{Tarzan}} at the Earth's Core'').
** A character thinking he's a genetically engineered monstrosity when really he's a totally normal amnesiac human (''Literature/TheMonsterMen'').
* Creator/StephenKing's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series does this a hell of a lot: [[spoiler:Whoops, pregnant with a shapeshifting daemon baby and I'm one of the fathers]] and [[spoiler:there's two of us.]] Funny part is [[spoiler:I never had my way with you. My seed is being passed to you by an oracle who'll proceed to rape you for a good 30 pages.]] Gosh darn, can't not love Stephen King.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Soul Music'', [[PunnyName Quoth the Raven]] has trouble revealing that Susan's grandfather is Death, going "Dah Dah Dah Dea" (as part of a dramatic build-up). At which point Susan assumes that he's bothering her to inform her that a grandfather that she's never knowingly met is DEAF.
* Just about every single heroic character in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', and its sequel series ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', suffers from this. Nobody who has has ''any'' sort of vital information about ''anything'' can reveal it straight away, either because they for various reasons Cannot Spit It Out or because they're interrupted by someone else arriving or something important happening. The single exception to this rule is Butch, a minor character from ''The Lost Hero,'' who at his first appearance explains exactly what's going on the moment he's asked.
%%How?* ''American Wife'' has one of the most tragic examples of this trope.
* ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'':
** Kolea cannot bring himself to admit to Dalin that he is his real birth father.
** Gaunt and Curth, during a series that has spanned well over a decade, have only come close to saying how they feel about each other a handful of times.

* A lot of harm could have been avoided in ''Literature/TheTraitorGame'' if Michael confronted Francis properly about his supposed betrayal or if Francis managed to [[spoiler:tell Michael that he is gay]] sooner.
* This happens a lot throughout ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
** Harry not telling mundanes about the magical world because they can't handle the truth or knowing can put them in danger.
** In ''Literature/DeadBeat'' Mavra telling Harry that if he asks for help in getting the Word of Kemmler she'll come down like the sword of Damocles on them.
* In ''Literature/{{Parzival}}'', this is the cause of Parzival's problems: when he first sees the Grail, he thinks of the question he should ask, but fails to ask it, setting in motion the rest of the plot.

* ''Literature/TheWindwaterPack'': Cian is a bit tongue-tied when he finally tells Moira he loves her. As she put it: “It’s a good thing you’re cute, because that has got to be the most awkward proposal in the history of wolves.”
* In ''Literature/AWolfInTheSoul'', Greg can't summon up the courage to tell anybody about the weirdness happening around him for the entire first two-thirds of the book. He even blames others for not seeing the pain he's working so hard to keep under wraps. At least in the last third of the book he gets better, but he can still barely bring himself to tell the people from whom he's begging for help unless they tell him they already know he's a werewolf.
* In ''Literature/VampireAcademy'', Dimitri's feelings for Rose are intense and genuine, but boy does he take his time to admit to them.

* Justified in ''Literature/TheTrialsOfApollo'' - while Apollo has clearly figured out some plot important information, he forgets it at the worst possible moment due to him being BroughtDownToNormal. [[LampshadeHanging Of course, Apollo gets frustrated at how often this happens]].
* In a somewhat unusual example, Richard Dalloway from Creator/VirginiaWoolf's novel ''[[Literature/MrsDalloway Mrs. Dalloway]]'' has a terrible time working up the courage to tell his ''wife'' that he loves her! (She understands his feelings anyway, and reciprocates them.)
* The gay action series ''Cut & Run'' by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux has this in spades, as befits a pair of troubled FBI tough guys who enjoy antagonizing each other almost as much as sex, and whose relationship is shaped by brutal, successive traumas. Ty (who's never been in love) and Zane (whose long-dead wife was the love of his life, or so he thought) can't manage to acknowledge to ''themselves'' that they're in love, much less to each other. Ty admits it to himself late in [[spoiler:book two]] and to Zane deep into [[spoiler:book three]], but Zane doesn't come clean to Ty until well into [[spoiler:book four]].
* ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'': Victor keeps the monster a secret, justifying this by saying that people wouldn't believe him anyway or call him mad. He still refuses to divulge the truth when Justine is tried for the monster's actions and eventually executed.

** The latter part of Season One sees [[ShipperOnDeck more or less every other main character]] trying to encourage Fitz to first acknowledge his feelings for Simmons and then admit them to her. But every time he tries, she [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint thinks he's talking about something else]], and, when ''she'' confronts ''him'' with a question about his [[GreenEyedMonster hostility]] towards her other potential LoveInterest, he dries up completely until he manages to come up with another semi-plausible excuse. Even when they're both [[spoiler:expecting to die]], he still can't bring himself to tell her, but asks her to "let me show you" via an attempt at [[spoiler:a HeroicSacrifice so she can live]].
** Late in Season Five, after [[spoiler: May tells Coulson that she loves him]], Coulson repeatedly tries to reply and fails each time. One gets the feeling Coulson understands Fitz a lot better now.