->''Unresolved sexual tension. It's the engine that makes television run.''\\
-- '''Michael Weatherly''', in an ''{{NCIS}}'' episode commentary

Two people are obviously attracted to each other, but some element of the story is keeping them apart. This tension is frequently referred to as {{UST}} in fandom, where it is pronounced "oost" or Yu-Ess-Tee. Also known as "[[FunWithAcronyms Long Unresolved Sexual Tension]]".

See [=~Will They Or Won't They~=]. {{UST}} is also a cousin of JustFriends. MomentKiller is a staple of a UST relationship. See ShippingBedDeath or StrangledByTheRedString for when {{UST}} is resolved badly. MySensorsIndicateYouWantToTapThat is a funny way to [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] {{UST}}. Compare ButIWouldReallyEnjoyIt.

----
[[foldercontrol]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''KazeNoStigma'' has Ayano who does not realize what she wants , she calls Kazuma a jerk , but tries to hold his hand at an amusement park , blushes all the time and flies into a towering rage if Kazuma makes a move on her or if she sees him with another woman .
* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is chock full of this. Of course, [[MindScrew it doesn't really]] [[GainaxEnding go anywhere]].
** Like ''SchoolRumble''.
** This is even... [[IncrediblyLamePun ehm]]... [[{{HandWave}} handwaved]] at the beginning of ''{{End of Evangelion}}, IfYouKnowWhatIMean.
*** Did you have to say handwaved, considering the original planned ending? Squick.
* ''CodeGeass''. The fangirls probably went ballistic: THREE valid pairings for the male lead alone, and enough done by one side or the other to establish the attraction as canon. The relationship between the two {{Tsundere}}s Kallen and Lelouch was especially frustrating because four-fifths of the second season saw every one of their private moments together interrupted by something bad or confusing. The other two love interests were [[NaiveEverygirl Shirley]] [[spoiler:who spent most of the series with a crush on Lelouch and then died one episode after [[RelationshipUpgrade Lelouch finally accepted her as his girlfriend]]]] and [[{{Kuudere}} C.C.]] [[spoiler:who spent most of the series helping Lelouch just so she could pass her curse of immortality onto him in the end and die]].
** Also, Suzaku/Euphie, and [[BrotherSisterIncest Lelouch x Nunnally]] if you think about it.
** There's also [[FoeYay Suzaku/Lelouch]] or [[HoYay Lelouch/Rolo]] if you're into {{Slash}}.
* ''ErgoProxy'', Vincent and Re-l. The definition of their relationship.
* ''{{Maria-sama Ga Miteru}}'' introduces massive amounts of UnresolvedSexualTension between [[SchoolgirlLesbians students of an all-girl high school]].
* [[{{Troperiffic}} Of course]], the ''SuzumiyaHaruhi'' series features this between Mikuru and Kyon, although this tends to [[DieForOurShip depend on your camp]] and [[WMG/SuzumiyaHaruhiNoYuutsu which theories you may subscribe to]]. Unfortunately for them, [[{{God}} Haruhi]] isn't about to allow that come hell or high water due to her own UST with him (as exemplified by [[spoiler:how Kyon saved the world from being remade by stealing a kiss from Haruhi, and the ending of Someday in the Rain]]), and on top of that it's also forbidden for Mikuru by [[TimeTravel time traveller]]-rules. Her [[spoiler:future self appears to feel the same affection towards him, implying that nothing ''ever'' came of this, regardless.]]
* Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki on ''{{Bleach}}''. Kubo described their current relationship in an interview as more than good friends, but less than lovers. Whether or not this changes has yet to be seen. Kubo has also stated that Rukia is like "a shining light" to Ichigo, at at the very least are precious Nakama and that their relationship, romantic or other wise, is the core of the story.
** There's also Ichigo and Orihime, though mostly on her end because he's ObliviousToLove.
* Sango and Miroku from ''InuYasha''! The UST is so obvious that their grope-slap exchange becomes a running gag throughout the series.
** Not just ''InuYasha'' -- ''Anything'' and ''everything'' by RumikoTakahashi. The woman is addicted to this trope. It runs in her veins to the exclusion of blood.
* [[IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn A more one-sided example]] is that of Setsuna toward Konoka in ''MahouSenseiNegima''. This gets turned up to [[MemeticMutation nine thousand]] for the Spring and Summer anime specials.
** [[spoiler:Resolving now, starting from chapter 252 with an epic [[strike:snog]] Pactio. Doesn't seem to be one-sided, either (Konoka was the aggressive one during the kiss. Her tongue, not Setsuna's).]]
** There's also [[strike: a bit]] a lot of UST between Negi and Asuna, although it's more "romantic tension" than "sexual tension" given the fact that Negi is [[CuteShotaroBoy ten years old.]]
*** ...Although this has now been given quite a bit of {{Squick}} factor seeing as [[spoiler:''Asuna is actually Negi's '''aunt'''.'']]
*** Hell, Negi has some form of this with most of the primary female cast members.
** There's also a good chunk of this between [[BetaCouple Kotaro and Natsumi]].
* [[TransformersCybertron Lori/Coby]], [[ToyShip despite being 12 and 13 respectively]], have enough UST to sink [[strike: Tidal Wave]] [[strike: [[InconsistentDub Shockwave]]]] Tidal Wave.
* Spike and Faye from ''CowboyBebop''.
** Mostly [[AllLoveIsUnrequited one-sided]], on Faye's part. Spike is rather hung up on Julia.
* Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye in ''FullmetalAlchemist'', with shades of BodyguardCrush and SubordinateExcuse. Particularly played up in the manga version, which has also featured increasing UST between Ed and [[WrenchWench Winry]].
** The [[PortmanteauCoupleName Royai]] {{UST}} is actually acknowledged by Riza in-series and used for her own ends. And it was awesome.
* In ''FullMetalPanic'', [[{{Tsundere}} Kaname]] and [[TheStoic Sôsuke]] -- namely the anime. At the end of the third season, ''just'' when it looks like they're finally at ''least'' going to hug, they're [[MomentKiller interrupted]]. Also, [[CoolBigSis Mao]] and [[ChivalrousPervert Kurz]] have a ''lot'' of UST [[spoiler:which is eventually resolved in the {{Light Novel}}s]].
* This is what fuels most of the ShippingWars in ''[=~Pokémon~=]''. Of course, with Ash and Misty's long odyssey together, it's almost impossible to top with May or Dawn.
* ''Godchild'' and ''CountCain'' fall into this trope easily. Half of the series is Cain kicking some ass the other half is having angsty dialogue with manservant Riff about how they'll accompany each other to hell and other such lovely things. Despite all of this the manga-ka ''KaoriYuki'' claims they weren't a couple in the ''AngelSanctuary'' art book.
* ''{{Vassalord}}'' IS this trope. Except it kind of gets resolved. Kind of. But not really as Charley and Johnny still haven't done it despite obviously WANTING to. Charley walks in on Johnny showering without a problem.
* ''{{Hana-Kimi}}'' has a ''lot'' of this. We've got a [[WholesomeCrossdresser girl disguised]] [[{{Bifauxnen}} as a boy]] rooming with a boy that knows she's a girl but she doesn't know he knows, and they both have crushes on each other. And then another boy has a crush on her, but doesn't know she's a girl. ''Tons'' of WillTheyOrWontThey. Plus, taking place at an all-boys {{boarding school}}, there's a ton of HoYay between male side characters.
* ''{{Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei}}'' also has a lot of this, essentially the upshot of every single girl in the class being in love with the teacher. He is almost pathologically resistant to their affections (ethical concerns aside), but is painfully aware of the UST, which is why he has stopped resisting Tsunetsuki's stalking as doing so only spurs her to more extreme behavior. The class exists in a kind of equilibrium where the UST never quite boils over, at least until somebody or something kicks over the anthill, such as Nozomu's arranged marriage in season 1, his flirtatious body-double in Zan, and an out-of-left-field love-confession from a random student in the same season.
* In ''PrincessTutu'', once [[spoiler:Fakir]] finds out about Ahiru's secret there starts to be a ''lot'' of [=UST=] between the two, normally centered around [[spoiler:Fakir]] accidentally being around when Ahiru turns from a duck into a (naked) girl.
* ''ChronoCrusade'' is chock full of [=UST=] for a bunch of pairings, but particularly Rosette and Chrono. In the manga, Chrono accidentally [[ShowerOfAwkward walks in on Rosette when she's taking a shower]], and in the anime at one point Rosette shakes her rear end in Chrono's face in an attempt to get a favor out of him. In both versions they later become the OfficialCouple.
* Kirihara from ''DarkerThanBlack'' had at least three potential love interests that never went anywhere. One is a man who too shy to admit it and only later professes his love for her, except [[ResetButton both of them lost their memory of the incident afterward]]. This was a one sided crush. Another is Hei whom she could have developed feelings for given some time, but this too is one sided. The third is Simon, perhaps the only man there could have been mutual love interests with.
** [[spoiler:Turns out she's still after Hei two years later, and is in fact approaching StalkerWithACrush territory.]] Also, her crush on Hei may not have been completely one-sided; she's one of a grand total of two people he [[TheStoic actually mentioned any of his feelings or opinions to]].
* There's so much tension between [[MindGameShip Battler and Beato]] in ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'' that it's not even funny.
* Rito from ''ToLoveRu'' is practically made of this trope, towards Lala and Haruna especially. He'd had a crush on Haruna that was at least a year old by the start of the story, and all of there interaction is chock full of UST. It's little better with Lala, who he refuses to admit to even the possibilty for 100 chapters.
** Let's not even get started on the UST [[UnwantedHarem the girls]] have towards him either, which include one girl sneaking into his bed and another freaking out over sending him a text message. In fact it wouldn't be to much of a stretch to declare ToLoveRu one big pile of UST.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films]]
* [[RepoTheGeneticOpera Repo! The Genetic Opera]] has [[BrotherSisterIncest Amber Sweet and Luigi]]. It's particularly evident at the beginning of "Mark It Up".
** A bit squicky, but Graverobber for Shiloh in "Needle Through a Bug". Perhaps this troper read too far into the song?
* In ''L.627'', a French film directed by Bertrand Tavernier, narcotics cop "Lulu" Marguet is in love with HIV-positive prostitute Cecile, but they are kept apart by the disease.
* ''InTheMoodForLove'' is entirely about UST.
* ''TheAvengers'', between Steed and Mrs. Peel. They flirt throughout the movie, but can't get together because (as in the original series) Mrs. Peel' husband is missing (and presumed dead), so he could show up at any time.
** The original series also had some Steed/Peel UST, particularly in "The Hidden Tiger".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* For a 19th-century novel, ''JaneEyre'' contains a surprising amount of fairly obvious sexual tension. The scene in which Rochester, unwilling to let Jane return to her room, ends up clinging to her hand and acting as if he is [[AlmostKiss about to kiss her]] comes to mind. Especially since it follows a scene in which she saves him from being [[FreudWasRight burned alive in his bed]].
* [[HarryPotter Ron and Hermione]].
** This [[spoiler:actually ''does'' get resolved.]]
*** This trooper notice that [[spoiler:the resolution was revealed, but not actually displayed on scene.]]
* [[spoiler:Leafpool and Crowfeather]] in the third ''{{WarriorCats}}'' series after being forced to "go their separate ways" by the freakin' Warrior Code. Also a lot of tension between them in ''Starlight'' before [[spoiler:Crowfeather]] confesses his feelings at the end of the book. According to the narrator, the tension ''literally'' crackles like lightning.
* The tension between [[TheStoic Elphaba]] and [[TheCutie Glinda]], from ''{{Wicked}}'', was rather obvious, especially after [[spoiler: Dillmond's death, to their travels to Emerald City.]] They also share ''two'' farewell kisses.
** The musical seems to play this up, due to the fact many of the actresses who play them act rather... [[HaveAGayOldTime Gay]]. They exchange many ''long'' glances, and often hold hands.
* The '90s HardyBoys[=/=]NancyDrew crossover books included a ton of UST between Nancy and Frank, including at least one illicit kiss; it could never come to anything, of course, since they both had steady love interests in their own series.
* Jane Austen's ''{{Pride and Prejudice}}'' runs on subtle but pervasive UST, at least for the second half. Before that, almost the entire story is Elizabeth POV and she insists she's very much not interested in Darcy.
* There's a ''lot'' of {{UST}} between Harry and Murphy in ''TheDresdenFiles''. This being the series it is, it's heavily lampshaded.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Everywhere in ''{{Bones}}''. [[spoiler:The recent season finale shows how Brennan and Booth would be if they got married -- it's really boring without the UST. And now WordOfGod states that Booth remembers the fantasy, which will make his UST EVEN [[strike:BETTER]] WORSE.]]
** It IS worse: [[spoiler: Booth's present feelings might be the result of ''brain damage'']] and everyone from Angela's psychic to ''his own BadassGrandpa'' is telling him to hook up with Brennan.
* On ''{{Chuck}}'', virtually every semi regular female character except his sister has this with Chuck. In the first season, people thought there was even UST with her.
* ''{{CSI}}'': Grissom and Sara. "Pin me," anyone?
** Still present even though they've gotten together, although now it's more like "Repressed Sexual Tension" since two members of the same shift aren't supposed to date. Plus, Grissom's her supervisor. Again when Sara leaves, then returns as a guest during season 9 with an undertone of the relationship maybe falling apart.
*** Ultimately {{Sealed With a Kiss}} when William Peterson followed Jorja Fox in leaving the show - only the second kiss they ever have on-screen. The first was in ''Goodbye and Good Luck''.
** Now that both Grissom and Sara are gone, {{Lab Rat}}s Hodges and Wendy became the main UST couple. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in a Season 9 episode when one of their co-workers says what the rest are thinking and asks why they don't just admit to each other how they feel.
** [[spoiler: They do, in the "TakeThat, DarkerAndEdgier [[BattlestarGalactica Remakes]]!" episode. Hodges then transfers to another shift to ensure they don't get fired, and if they've hooked up since then I haven't seen it.]]
* The ''{{Firefly}}''-class merchanteer ''Serenity'' had Mal and Inara, and Simon and Kaylee.
** The entire concept was skewered beautifully in the episode "War Stories", however. Wash, sick of being left on the ship during most jobs (what with being the pilot), declares his suspicion of UST between his wife Zoe and Captain Mal Reynolds. Said captain is dumbfounded by the very suggestion; while the two of them ''do'' have an extensive history, their relationship is only that of old friends/war buddies. Once the situation has resolved, however, Mal and Zoe make a show of it, just to needle Wash for being overly suspicious. There's so little romantic chemistry that even hardened mercenary Jayne, normally the crudest and most lecherous of the crew, is unnerved.
**There's also quite a bit of UST between, of ''all people'', [[FoeYay River and Jayne.]]
* ''LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' between Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson; the ElephantInTheLivingRoom until the episode "Fault".
** Neal Baer, head writer for the show, has also said that Olivia has UST with [[LesYay Assistant DA Alexandra Cabot]].
** Also Elliot and recurring character Dr. Rebecca Hendrix. Even Olivia mentions it.
* Pam and Jim from the American version of ''{{The Office}}''. A lot of critical speculation said that its resolution would destroy the show. It's continuing strength even after dealing with the UST is a testament to the writing team.
**Andy also claims to have this with Karen at least twice throughout the third season, although this seems to be a parody of sorts (or an insight into Andy's screwed up mind) as the two barely ever interact especially after the branch merger.
* ''{{Sliders}}'': Being a [[GenreBlindness Genre Blind]] ChickMagnet, Quinn has this with both female regulars as well as any GirlOfTheWeek. Ironically, Quinn is eventually replaced by his AlternateUniverse counterpart, who seeks girls a lot more actively but doesn't have ''nearly'' the same luck as the other Quinn, who wasn't really looking.
* ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'': O'Neill and Carter flirt with this, but behind-the-scenes forces make any romantic feelings between them ''genuinely'' appear and disappear at apparent random (as opposed to WillTheyOrWontThey). Nonetheless, it showed up least once a season.
** Them being married in at least one AU doesn't help.
** After O'Neill left the show, Daniel and Vala took over the job of teasing the audience about the potential of their relationship, though it was less heavy handed in that case. Well, at least until [[spoiler:they got together in a timeline that ended up being reset]].
* [[TheXFiles Mulder and Scully]].
* Many fans commented on a particular, serious case with RealLife actors Selena Gomez and David Henrie, who play Alex Russo and Justin Russo, from ''WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''. The case is serious due to the actors' strong chemistry that turned the recent film's heartwarming, brother-sister scenes into almost romantic, flirtatious moments. And because it's a {{Disney}} movie.
* Angel & Cordelia and Wesley & Fred absolutely torture the audience of ''{{Angel}}'' with this for years. Both cases are finally resolved in the final season [[spoiler: with the deaths of both women. Cordelia and Angel ''never'' get to have sex, and it's unclear if Fred and Wesley ever do (she has a line while she's dying about "finally" getting him up to her bedroom, but they might have slept together at his place).]]
* Present between Maddie and Jonathan on several episodes of ''JonathanCreek''. Refreshing in that both actors were well outside the established romantic lead type.
** If anything Jonathan and Carla had it worse in the fourth series. Not helped by the fact that they dated, broke up due to a silly misunderstanding, and the next time they saw each other Carla was married. Whoops.
* This was the whole premise of ''{{Moonlighting}}'', a romantic {{Dramedy}} series starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Sheppard as private detectives. The whole show [[JumpTheShark jumped the shark]] in the fifth season when they finally consummated their relationship; the tension was simply gone and it become yet another sitcom.
** Lampshaded in the series finale, a great example of the show's frequent BreakingTheFourthWall. The two detectives come back to the office to find it being dismantled by people working for ABC; an ABC network executive tells them that viewers had enjoyed watching them fall in love, but after they'd already fallen they lost interest.
** The downfall of ''{{Moonlighting}}'' was the result of tons of behind-the-scenes problems that plagued the show for the duration of its run, ranging from script and episode delays to a writer's strike that struck mid-season to the declining quality of scripts to (infamously combative) lead actors who simply didn't want to continue working on the show. Bruce Willis launched his film career with ''{{Die Hard}}'' between the third and fourth seasons and Cybil Sheppard, reportedly never pleased with the long working hours, wanted more time off to spend time with her growing family. While it's easy (and common) to write off ''Moonlighting'''s decline as a result of Resolved Sexual Tension, it isn't that simple.
* The title character and his doctor in the short-lived show ''Jake 2.0''. While they came close at one point to "consummating their relationship", the show was cancelled before anything could come of it.
** WordOfGod is that, had they been allowed to finish off the season, they would have ended up living Happily Ever After.
* Essentially the series spanning relationship of Harm and Mac in ''JAG'', as half of their spats in and outside the courtroom liked to play with this. The wake of failed relationships also seemed to keep their UST alive and well, as both Harm and Mac would have a new love interest by mid-season or the start of a new season. This lasted until the final episode where they decide to finally get married.
* ''{{Friends}}'', obviously. That show lived off UST, they'll resolve it once then something will go wrong and it'll build up again over time, over and over again.
* Niles and Daphne on ''{{Frasier}}'', in one of the most drawn-out examples, with some absolutely brutal [[MomentKiller Moment Killers]] and a plethora of [[ThePaolo Paolos]]. Opinion is mixed on the effect of them getting together on the last seasons of the show. It ran for four more years thereafter, and even after they did get together, it took them almost an entire season to consummate. Of the four seasons, they were married for two.
* Undeniably, Jack and Liz on ''[=~30 Rock~=]'', no matter how much TinaFey says [[NoHuggingNoKissing it's not going to happen]].
* Sue Thomas and Jack Hudson on ''Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye''. A few episodes plays with this, e.g. "The Newlywed Game" where the pair goes undercover as a [[NavalExercise married couple]], and "The Kiss" where Jack fakes having a affair with Sue to maintain their cover at a law office they infiltrated.
* Tony and Angela from ''Who's the Boss?'' -- to the point where their Dance of Denial annoyed even the secondary characters.
* Shawn and Juliet from ''{{Psych}}'' are definitely showing what looks like some UST, granted it's not the premise around which the show is built (thank god). There was a moment in season 2 where [[spoiler: Shawn and Jules ''almost'' kissed but Jules wound up rebuking him]] and in season 3 [[spoiler: Shawn was turned down for a date with the girl from the aquarium because she didn't want to ''get in the way''.]]
** Shawn himself has a high school potential sweetheart "The one who got away" named Abigail. They met again at their high school reunion which led to resolving a lot of their UST. But just when Abigail seemed interested in pursuing a new relationship, Juliet was in Shawn's line of sight and he clumsily but politely backs out of it. Several episodes later he decides to go for it with Abigail and just as he gets popcorn for her, Juliet tries to resolve their UST.
* In ''{{NCIS}}'', despite both characters having relationships with other people over the course of the show, [[HandsomeLech Tony]] and [[ActionGirl Ziva]] have kept up an ongoing unresolved sexual tension for four seasons and counting. The series [[ShipTease intentionally capitalizes]] on the UST with episodes like "Under Covers", in which they are obliged to [[NavalExercise pose as married assassins]] and fake having a lot of sex in the process, and "Boxed In", in which they spend most of the episode [[LockedInAFreezer Locked in a Box]].
** Lampshaded by Gibbs in "Smoked". [[spoiler:"You two done playing grabass?"]]
** Lampshaded by a (married) HookerWithAHeartOfGold who ''instantly'' sees the UST between Tony and Ziva. [[spoiler:She offers to help get rid of some of Tony's tension (he's still very hung up on his ex, the Arms Dealer's Beautiful Daughter) and comments on how such a hyper vigilant woman could be so blind (Ziva has no idea what she's referring to).]]
** There's also a bit of this between Abby and [=McGee=]. They were involved for a few episodes in season one, but since the break up, Abby has been notably jealous of other women near "her" man.
* [[AcrossTheStars This troper]] senses barrels of it between Jack and Renee on the new season of ''[[TwentyFour 24]]''. She may or may not be insane.
** WordOfGod confirms that the two will hook up in season eight.
* OK. Season Two of ''{{Life}}''. Episode... I think it's six, "Jackpot", the one with the lottery winners. The bit where Crews climbs over the wall, gets shot at and falls off? Anyone else think that when Reese screams, "Crews!" the emotion's a bit more than concern?
** Not to mention, those two would be so much better together than the Reese/Tidwell storyline.
** And hooking Crews up with practically everything in a skirt? Where is the respect?
* Cal Lightman and Gillian Foster in ''LieToMe'' are the new ''personification'' of this trope.
* Used effectively in Season 4 of ''{{The Sopranos}}'' between [[spoiler: Carmela and Furio.]] It ends painfully when [[spoiler: Furio panics about his feelings for Carmela, due to the fact that she's The Boss's wife, and moves back to Italy.]] In the season finale, it becomes an important factor in [[spoiler: Tony and Carmela's separation]].
** And of course, Tony and Dr. Melfi, who knows him ''emotionally'' perhaps better than any other woman in the series--being his therapist and all.
* ''{{Farscape}}''... oh, ''Farscape''. The UST Between John Crichton and Aeryn Sun in the beginning had its own gravitational field. Even after it was resolved, their [[SlapSlapKiss unstable relationship]] made it feel like it never really got resolved (thus averting ShippingBedDeath) until the condensed, mini-series fifth season.
* This is the entire point of ''{{Castle}}''.
* ''{{Smallville}}''. At some point on the show, [[LoveDodecahedron everybody crushes after everybody]]. But almost [[AllLoveIsUnrequited never in pairs]]. Since half the crushes involve [[TheWesley Lana Lang]], the effectiveness of the UST depends very much on viewers liking that character.
* Jack and Gwen on ''{{Torchwood}}''. Whoever else Jack might be shagging, it's those two who've gotten the longing gazes and a certain nearly incendiary shooting lesson.
** Pretty much gone by ''Children of Earth'', probably to [[spoiler:emphasize the [[TearJerker tragic love story]] between Jack and Ianto, as well as the happy-ending love story between Gwen and Rhys]]. Although, in commentary, John Barrowman did refer to this in reference to the scene where [[spoiler:Jack learns of Gwen's pregnancy before Rhys does]].
* Gene and Alex on ''{{Ashes to Ashes}}'' have been dancing around the will-they-won't-they issue since the first episode of the show, the whole police force already thinks they're shagging, and the writers have ramped up the tension even more drastically in the second series. Of course, any potential relationship between the two may be seriously hampered by the fact that Alex is quite probably trapped in her own head and Gene himself is quite possibly imaginary...
* Tony and Carol on ''{{Wire in the Blood}}'' have ''bucketloads'' of it. They share a ridiculous number of charged moments, complete with looks of longing, almost-kisses, a fair amount of jealousy and plenty of {{subtext}}.
* ''DarkAngel''. Max and Logan are in a perpetual state of "string ready to snap" UST. The show hinged on it so much that the writers [[spoiler:infected Max with a retrovirus genetically targeted to kill Logan when they have skin-to-skin contact.]]
* ''BattlestarGalactica'' (2003): Starbuck and Apollo has unresolved sexual tension even after having sex. There was a whole episode with an A-plot about it, aptly named "Unfinished Business".
* TheNineties breakfast show ''The Big Breakfast'' was powered by UST when Johnny Vaugn and Denise Van Outen were the two co-hosts. Even the advertising trails [[ShipTease hinted at it]] when they were rehired.
* ''TheWestWing'' had Josh Lyman and Donna Moss.
** A well-done case of WillTheyOrWontThey
* ''{{The Mentalist}}'' has Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt. At least once per episode there is some mention that one of them is attracted to the other one, and they've actually kissed once while he was under hypnosis. This doesn't look to get resolved any time soon, either: workplace rules prohibit them from dating.
**[[spoiler: Now Resolved... at least until their bosses find out.]]
* Chakotay and Janeway in ''StarTrekVoyager''. Until it was abandoned for a LastMinuteHookup of Chakotay and Seven, to quite a few people's disappointment.
*Daisy and Tim in ''Spaced''. Incredibly frustrating as the show was canceled just as the two seemed to be realising what the audience was rooting for since episode 1.
** If by 'cancelled', you mean 'Simon Pegg got a bit distracted with a movie career that pretty much shot out of nowhere'
*''Primeval'' had multiple UST's going on at any point during the shows run. The most prominent being Jenny (or Claudia depending on which series you're watching) and Cutter...this is never resolved. No worries though, because Connor and Abby picked up right where they left off in series 3, just in time for the show to be canceled before anything substantial came of their relationship.
* ''Doctor Who'', the Doctor and Rose. Although this is technically resolved in a cop-out involving [[spoiler: The Doctor mooching her off on his clone. This seemed to work out well for everyone involved in the show (well, except for the REAL Doctor). Although many a fangirl screamed in furious rage.]]
* Done all sorts of backwards on ''GossipGirl'' with Chuck and Blair. They ''start out'' by having sex, and have a friends-with-benefits thing going for a few episodes. ''Then'' they end up in a drawn-out UST storyline, which includes playing ''Dangerous Liaisons'' type games, Chuck pretending to be Blair's boyfriend during a blackout, and generally wanting nothing more than to get together but neither willing to really be the initiator. Even lampshaded by Chuck in one episode, when he can't perform with other women thanks to his UST with Blair (the subsequent plan to use her as sexual Drano doesn't go all that well).

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* Shakespeare. [[SlapSlapKiss Benedick and Beatrice]], [[StarCrossedLovers Romeo and Juliet]] in their first scenes, [[WholesomeCrossdresser Viola and Orsino]], [[LesYay Viola and Olivia]]... this is a staple of his comedies. In his tragedies, sex seems to fall by the wayside ([[FreudWasRight Hamlet notwithstanding]]). This is rather tricky of him to pull off, considering the women were played by boys probably half the age of the men's actors, since in his age only men were allowed to be actors.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Mario (and possibly Luigi) with Peach in the ''SuperMarioBros.'' games. Of course, the very nature of their relationship itself is very vague because of Nintendo's policies and Peach usually just reward Mario with a kiss on the cheek. Surprisingly this issue is pretty much directly addressed in [[PaperMario Super Paper Mario]] when Luvbi asks the characters if Mario and Peach are an item. If the player has Mario out he [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend shakes his head in denial]], or if Luigi is out instead he will say that it is "kinda hard to say" but that he wouldn't call her Mario's girlfriend. Luvbi concludes it as a one-sided crush.
* Link and Zelda (as well as Marin, Midna and any number of his female companions throughout the years) in ''{{The Legend of Zelda}}'' series. However, WordOfGod has suggested Link and Zelda won't be portrayed as more than friends.
** In regards to the Zelda comment, whilst that might be true for most games, that sure as hell didn't seem to be the case with OcarinaOfTime, which pretty blatantly seemed to imply an attraction between the two.
*** The manga adaption takes this even further.
*** There doesn't seem to be anything in the game that implies Link being attracted to Zelda, actually. In fact he seems disinterested in any kind of romance altogether. The fact that he [[HeroicMime doesn't ever talk]] probably doesn't help.
** Then there's Tetra/Zelda in the WindWaker as well.
**In ''The Adventure of Link'', Link and Zelda even kiss at the very end.
* Ada Wong and Leon Kennedy from ''ResidentEvil''.
**Some could also be argued for Billy Coen and Rebecca Chambers, but with Ada and Leon, it's definitely harder arguing ''against'' it.
** Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine also seem to have plenty of this going on as well. Even Chris's new (working) partner Sheva in RE5 makes the deduction that he and Jill were 'close' after he recounts a story about her.
* Arguably, Dante and Lady from the DevilMayCry series (more evident in the third game).
** Dante and Trish might also apply.
*** And then there's Dante and Lucia from the second game. SoYeah, pretty much most female characters in the series have this with Dante.
* Fox McCloud and Krystal had this for a good majority of their appearances together in the StarFox series.
** In Command, they actually already have had a relationship and broken up, resulting in much more of this (there are 9 different endings, in some of which, they actually do get together, in others they split up for good).
* Solid Snake and Otacon are suspected of this in the ''MetalGearSolid'' games. Even creator Hideo Kojima is a fan of the unstated pairing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Gallons of this between Gil and Agatha in ''GirlGenius''.
** Almost to the point of parody.
* Parodied in ElGoonishShive with Agents Cranium and Wolf who in the words of the author: [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2009-10-26 They have, they will again, and they utterly fail at hiding it.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* SexySecretary Sandra Telfer and SadClown Raimi Matthews in ''BrokenSaints'', which unfortunately, [[spoiler: stays unresolved due to untimely demise.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* GreenLantern and Hawkgirl from ''JusticeLeague''. It starts off as {{subtext}}, with them alternately [[SlapSlapKiss bickering]] and rushing to each other's rescue. It grows to the point that the GenreSavvy Joker, watching Hawkgirl and Green Lantern deal with one of his booby-traps, feels the need to [[LampshadeHanging comment]] on it. And then tries to blow them up.
-->'''Joker:''' Will Green Lantern ever admit to his feelings? Will Hawkgirl ever stop sublimating her passions with that big honking mace? Will true love conquer all? ''Not on my show.'' *BOOM*
** The episode itself ends this with blatant obviousness for a cartoon. After the UST is resolved, we hear an offscreen voice say "It's about time!" -- and then a cut to a woman winning the jackpot at a slot machine. Hmm...
** Later on, the series does this with {{Batman}} and WonderWoman. However, it's more or less only unresolved on Batsy's part, due to his "issues... ''lots'' of issues". Wonder Woman is very open (and, at a point or two, aggressive) about her desire to get together with him.
--->'''Green Lantern:''' ''(to an oblivious Superman)'' You know, for a guy with like fifty different kinds of vision, you can be completely blind sometimes....
*** Fun fact: Superman berates himself with this very phrase on Red Son's retrospective view of Wonder Woman.
* Goldie Gold and Travis Jack from ''{{Goldie Gold and Action Jack}}''.
* ''CodeLyoko''. Ulrich and Yumi. To a level at which all WesternAnimation examples will be compared.
** This couple may live on in infamy as the only one to ever [[GettingHotInHere sit half-naked in a heat bath together]] at 4 PM on Cartoon Network.
*** And ''still'' not hook up. It takes until ''the last few minutes of the last episode of the series'' before there's ''any'' kind of resolution, and even then it's only a tentative [[WillTheyOrWontThey "they will"]]. It seriously borders on MindScrew.
* Kimiko and Raimundo from ''Xiaolin Showdown'', especially in the episode where Hannibal Bean intrudes Raimundo's head. [[spoiler:He rests his arm on her shoulder in the cinema (only to find out that she is, in fact, Hannibal).]]
* Robin and Starfire from ''TeenTitans'' finally hooked up long after their mutual feelings were known to their teammates, their enemies, and random nerds on the Internet (in-show).
** This is based on a storyline in the ''Titans''/''Teen Titans'' comics.
[[/folder]]

----
<<|{{Fan-Speak}}|>>
<<|RomanceArc|>>