History TeethClenchedTeamwork / Literature

* Snape and Sirius in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' despise each other despite being on the same side; Snape has never forgiven Sirius for encouraging him to go look for a fully-transformed werewolf while they were at school, while Sirius trusts anyone who worked for Voldemort as far as he can throw them. Dumbledore has to cajole them into shaking hands at the end of book four, and they continue to trade insults through every scene they have in the following book.

* In ''Literature/TheRedVixenAdventures'' Salli loathes Melanie for enslaving Ali, and Melanie thinks Salli is a stuck-up prig, but both of them put their feelings of animosity aside whenever Ali is in trouble.

* In the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse, any threat to the entirety of known space results in this, as the Federation tries, with varying degrees of success, to gather all the local powers into a coalition. It sort of works during the Gateways and [[Literature/StarTrekTheGenesisWave Genesis Wave]] crises, and in the desperate days of the [[Literature/StarTrekDestiny Borg Invasion]], but there's always a lot of complaining. Now the [[Literature/StarTrekTyphonPact Typhon Pact]] has been formed, motivating in turn an expansion of the Khitomer Accords, meaning there's a lot more teamwork going on in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' galaxy -- and with it, more teeth clenching...

* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Truckers}}'', the tiny Nomes must form a team to drive a lorry. If they can't they will die when the store they live in is demolished. They bicker and fight, but in the end, they face the fact they have to work together. They harness the power of the engine to save themselves. Due to the uneven teamwork, steering control comes a poor second.

* In ''Literature/TheWarOfM'', Von Rached, the BigBad of ''Literature/TheCurseOfM'' who turned (to his annoyance) into an AntiVillain in ''Literature/TheStormOfM'' is forced to work with the protagonists. Considering he's an InsufferableGenius who performed a number of [[PlayingWithSyringes experiments]] on a few of them, this is almost impossible.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':

** In Andy Hoare's Literature/WhiteScars novel ''Hunt for Voldorius'', the White Scars and the Raven Guard manage to overcome DividedWeFall and do this. They find it difficult enough that the Raven Guard, attacking first, has brothers wondering if the White Scars will really support them.

* In ''Aria of the Sea'', AlphaBitch Elliana Nautilus startles her detested {{rival}}, protagonist Cerinthe Gale, by demanding that Cerinthe finish the choreography Cerinthe was working on as a religious tribute/class assignment and let Elliana dance it. While Cerinthe and Elliana hate each other and Elliana has bullied and harassed Cerinthe since Cerinthe's entrance exam, Cerinthe relents because she realises that Elliana is truly passionate about dancing, and that Elliana is more fit to dance the tribute than she is. However, the shaky collaboration comes to an end when Cerinthe scores a starring ballet role Elliana wanted, leading Elliana to make veiled threats against Cerinthe's life, and later to perform Cerinthe's choreography in public and pass it off as her own.

* Par for the course in ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'', where magicians are the ruling class, summoning spirits of various levels and forcing them into service. Spirits experience increasing discomfort and pain the longer they spend in the human world; they hate being summoned and will take [[LiteralGenie any opportunity]] to break their bonds, kill their masters and return to the spirit world. The titular [[ServileSnarker Bartimaeus]] (a mid-ranking djinn) and {{deuteragonist}} Nathaniel (a teen magician) detest each other, but are forced to work together to uncover government conspiracies and various threats, although Bartimaeus is still very much trapped and wants nothing more than to be left in peace and never summoned again. Nathaniel's treatment of Bartimaeus worsens between the second and third books, but they eventually reconcile and come to a respectful understanding near the end, to the point where [[spoiler:Bartimaeus is ready to die with Nathaniel while [[SharingABody hitching a ride in his body]] as they sacrifice themselves to save the world from a powerful spirit. However, Nathaniel banishes Bartimaeus back to the spirit world at the last moment and dies alone, effectively putting an end to their partnership for good.]]
* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Thrembode is usually at odds with people he's assigned to work with, but special mention goes to General Lukash, who repeatedly makes him mad by openly disregarding his guidance (even though Thrembode is supposed to be his advisor). They absolutely hate each other's guts. As an advisor to the general, assigned personally by the Masters themselves, the wizard is livid that Lukash constantly laughs off his guidance and effectively sabotages the war effort with his antics. The general, it turn, is furious that Thrembode tells him how to do his job and just won't let him have fun wantonly slaughtering people. This culminates in Lukash and Thrembode entering an open fight, in which the general is killed.

** Vicars Rhobair and Zhaspahr. They hate each others' guts and would love to get rid of each other as soon as possible, but are forced to work together as their departments (Finance and Inquisition, respectively) are two only things keeping the Church of God working.

* In ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', Iseult's and Aeduan's journey starts of this way, as they're both antisocial, both unwilling to speak to one another unless they really have to, and expecting InevitableMutualBetrayal from each other. They warm up to one another as the time goes on, though.

* In ''Literature/TheWarOfM'', Von Rached, the BigBad of ''Literature/TheCurseOfM'' who turned (to his annoyance) into an AntiVillain in ''Literature/TheStormOfM'' is forced to work with the protagonists against the BiggerBad. Considering he's an InsufferableGenius who performed a number of [[PlayingWithSyringes experiments]] on a few of them, this is almost impossible.

* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Thrembode is usually at odds with people he's assigned to work with, but special mention goes to General Lukash, who repeatedly makes him mad by openly disregarding his guidance (even though Thrembode is supposed to be his advisor).

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.

* In the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse, any threat to the entirety of known space results in this, as the Federation tries, with varying degrees of success, to gather all the local powers into a coalition. It sort of works during the Gateways and [[Literature/StarTrekTheGenesisWave Genesis Wave]] crises, and in the desperate days of the [[Literature/StarTrekDestiny Borg Invasion]], but there's always a lot of complaining. Now the [[Literature/StarTrekTyphonPact Typhon Pact]] has been formed, motivating in turn an expansion of the Khitomer Accords, meaning there's a lot more teamwork going on in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' galaxy - and with it, more teeth clenching...

* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'': The party at the beginning. At one point they nearly end up coming to blows, before Kaylana gets the others to realize that none of them can complete the quest - or even survive in the long run - without the abilities of the others.

* In ''Literature/TheMouseWatch'', this is how Bernie Skampersky reacts when she's paired up with another rookie, Jarvis Slinktail. This is because Bernie is a mouse, Jarvis is a rat, and Bernie is a TragicBigot because a rat killed her brother. However, Bernie eventually has a JerkassRealization and accepts Bernie as a friend and partner.

* In ''Literature/AllForTheGame'', the Palmetto State Foxes do not get along off the court--and before the series begins, they don't do very well on the court, either. However, as the series goes on, the players learn to understand each other a bit and get some TeamSpirit.

* In the Franchise/StarTrekNovelVerse, any threat to the entirety of known space results in this, as the Federation tries, with varying degrees of success, to gather all the local powers into a coalition. It sort of works during the Gateways and [[Literature/StarTrekTheGenesisWave Genesis Wave]] crises, and in the desperate days of the [[Literature/StarTrekDestiny Borg Invasion]], but there's always a lot of complaining. Now the [[Literature/StarTrekTyphonPact Typhon Pact]] has been formed, motivating in turn an expansion of the Khitomer Accords, meaning there's a lot more teamwork going on in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' galaxy - and with it, more teeth clenching...

* In the third book of Creator/RickRiordan's "Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians", 'The Titan's Curse' a prophecy forces the campers of Camp Half-blood and the Hunters of Artemis to work together, despite their strong, long-living feud.
* In Creator/RickRiordan's ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', there is quite a bit of animosity between Hera and more than a few demigods, particularly Annabeth and Thalia, but as Piper points out, they will have to work together to beat the Giants and Gaia.
* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Truckers}}'', the tiny Nomes must form a team to drive a lorry. If they can't they will die when the store they live in is demolished. They bicker and fight, but in the end, they face the fact they have to work together. They harness the power of the engine to save themselves. Due to the uneven teamwork, steering control comes a poor second.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': the Ogg extended family is described in a similar light.
* Nathaniel and Bartimaeus in ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy''.
* Harry and [[AffablyEvil Marcone]] in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.
* ''Literature/BlackLegion'' has Khayon and Telemachon. Both hate each other and at first, Telemachon only works with Khayon because otherwise, he loses the ability to feel any emotions. Later he joins the Black Legion's case wholeheartedly, but Khayon mentions that since then, they've tried to kill each other multiple times.

* In Andy Hoare's Literature/WhiteScars novel ''Hunt for Voldorius'', the White Scars and the Raven Guard manage to overcome DividedWeFall and do this. They find it difficult enough that the Raven Guard, attacking first, has brothers wondering if the White Scars will really support them.
* In the Franchise/StarTrekNovelVerse, any threat to the entirety of known space results in this, as the Federation tries, with varying degrees of success, to gather all the local powers into a coalition. It sort of works during the Gateways and [[Literature/StarTrekTheGenesisWave Genesis Wave]] crises, and in the desperate days of the [[Literature/StarTrekDestiny Borg Invasion]], but there's always a lot of complaining. Now the [[Literature/StarTrekTyphonPact Typhon Pact]] has been formed, motivating in turn an expansion of the Khitomer Accords, meaning there's a lot more teamwork going on in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' galaxy - and with it, more teeth clenching...
* In the second ''Literature/WarriorCats'' series, one cat from each of the four Clans is chosen by their ancestors for a mission. Two more cats end up coming along on the journey. Since they ''are'' from different Clans, some of them are quite a bit tense around each other, even hostile at times, but after helping each other through numerous dangers, they become FireForgedFriends.
* In [[Literature/TheHungerGames Catching Fire]] Katniss and Peeta have to [[spoiler:forge an alliance with previous victors during the Quarter Quell, even though they can't trust them. And, you know, only one person can come out of the Quell alive.]]

* This has been the consistent dynamic in Stephen Booth's Ben Cooper/Diane Fry police procedurals. Over the course of thirteen novels, the two have occasionally managed to reach a brief accord, but their personalities are so different that they are always misreading each other, even when it looks like they're about to become FireForgedFriends. It's typical that at the beginning of the series, Fry directs a DoYouThinkICantFeel outburst at Cooper when he's ''asleep.''
* In ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'', if two or more Underlander species have to work together, it most likely involves this.

** Raynos Alvahrez and his artillery commander have quite a strained relationship at first, as the latter is a great supporter of admiral Thrisk, while the former blames Thrisk for death of his cousin. However, over time, they come to understanding, as Desnairans they're supposed to work with force them into sort of EnemyMine situation.

** Vicars Rhobair and Zhaspar. They hate each others' guts and would love to get rid of each other as soon as possible, but are forced to work together as their departments (Finance and Inquisition, respectively) are two only things keeping the Church of God working.
* In ''Literature/ThePillarsOfReality'', members of the Mages' and Mechanics' guilds have been taught to hold each other in contempt, so after Mari and Alain become the sole survivors of an attack, their initial interactions are full of suspicion and tension. They improve.
* In ''Literature/AllForTheGame'', the Palmetto State Foxes do not get along off the court--and before the series begins, they don't do very well on the court, either. However, as the series goes on, the players learn to understand each other a bit and get some TeamSpirit.
* In ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', Iseult's and Aeduen's journey starts of this way, as they're both antisocial, both unwilling to speak to one another unless they really have to, and expecting InevitableMutualBetrayal from each other. They warm up to one another as the time goes on, though.
* In ''Literature/TheRedVixenAdventures'' Salli loathes Melanie for enslaving Ali, and Melanie thinks Salli is a stuck-up prig, but both of them put their feelings of animosity aside whenever Ali is in trouble.
* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'': The party at the beginning. At one point they nearly end up coming to blows, before Kaylana gets the others to realize that none of them can complete the quest - or even survive in the long run - without the abilities of the others.