History ThoseTwoGuys / Literature

* The ''Literature/HouseOfTheNight'' series has a female version in 'the Twins', two of Zoey Redbird's friends, who aren't literal twins (in fact, one is the TokenEthnicMinority) but are very close friends to each other. They even have [[ElementalRockPaperScissors complementary]] ElementalPowers, with one being fire and the other one water. I can't even remember which has fire and which has water. They have a brief romantic fling with a more typical set of Those Two Guys, incidentally.

* The ''HouseOfTheNight'' series has a female version in 'the Twins', two of Zoey Redbird's friends, who aren't literal twins (in fact, one is the TokenEthnicMinority) but are very close friends to each other. They even have [[ElementalRockPaperScissors complementary]] ElementalPowers, with one being fire and the other one water. I can't even remember which has fire and which has water. They have a brief romantic fling with a more typical set of Those Two Guys, incidentally.
* Charlie and Fanwell, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's two apprentices, in the ''TheNo1LadiesDetectiveAgency'' novels.

* Samneric in ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies''.

* ''[[Literature/AMagesPower A Mage's Power]]'': Revas and Otio are two of Eric's school friends; minor characters who are never seen apart and provide comedy. [[RedOniBlueOni One is a hotblooded cat beastfolk and the other is a calm lizard beastfolk.]]

* Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan, the [[HeterosexualLifePartners Monster]] [[TheyFightCrime Hunters]], in Derek Landy's ''[[SkulduggeryPleasant The Maleficent Seven]]'', qualify as they are primarily used for comic relief. While shown to be very talented fighters, they never take centre stage except for the purposes of comedy.

* TamoraPierce gives us lots of these in her [[TortallUniverse Tortall]] books; there's Raoul and Gary in the ''Alanna'' series, Miri and Evan in the ''Immortals'' quartet, Merric and Seaver in the ''Protector of the Small'' sequence, and Aniki and Kora in the ''Provost's Dog'' trilogy.

* Opera managers Richard and Moncharmin in ''ThePhantomOfTheOpera''. This trope continues into the stage show with these two (in which their names are changed to Andre and Firmin). There isn't even consistency in casting; sometimes Andre is the short one, sometimes it's Firmin. Often an actor will play both roles during their run with the show, being cast as one essentially means you can play the other just as well. Apparently the only person who can tell them apart is the Opera Ghost who addresses their notes accordingly.

* In ''TheLordOfTheRings'', Legolas and Gimli are very much Those Two Guys, especially in relation to Aragorn. Merry and Pippin also qualify. Though less in ''The Return of the King'', where they are separated and get bigger roles as knights of Rohan and Gondor respectively.

* Samneric in ''LordOfTheFlies''.

* Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson in ''SherlockHolmes''. Good enough coppers in their own way but naturally can't compare with the Great Detective, but only in the debut novel, ''A Study in Scarlet''. They never appear together after that, with Gregson largely fading into the background, while Lestrade attains enough prominence to [[InspectorLestrade get his own trope.]]

* ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' opens on two Anglo-Saxons: Gurth, a swineherd, and Wamba, a jester. They playfully banter, making a linguistic observation in the style of StevenWright. Wamba misdirects the local man of the cloth and a Knight Templar away from the home of Cedric, the local thane, in order to protect Cedric's daughter from unwanted advances. (They make it to the castle anyway, making for an uncomfortable dinner.) While it would be an exaggeration to call those two main characters, they do get more characterization and some plot-relevant moments later in the book; Wamba even manages to [[spoiler:free his master Cedric from his jail cell in their enemies' castle]] virtually all by himself, by the simple expedient of a clever disguise.

* Mallory and Jessi in ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub''.

* In ''TheLordOfTheRings'', Legolas and Gimli are very much Those Two Guys, especially in relation to Aragorn. Merry and Pippin also qualify.
** Though less in ''The Return of the King'', where they are separated and get bigger roles as knights of Rohan and Gondor respectively.

* Nobby Nobbs and Fred Colon frequently fulfill this role in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' City Watch stories.
** Not to mention their various international counterparts... every locale has an ethnic equivalent of Fred & Nobby.
*** Lampshaded in ''Discworld/{{Jingo}}''
* Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson in ''SherlockHolmes''. Good enough coppers in their own way but naturally can't compare with the Great Detective.
** Only in the debut novel, ''A Study in Scarlet'', though. They never appear together after that, with Gregson largely fading into the background, while Lestrade attains enough prominence to [[InspectorLestrade get his own trope.]]

* The [[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Wheel of Time]], having even more characters than Harry Potter, has remarkably few (given that everybody who shows up ever being significant), but Verin and Alanna could qualify for a bit. Until Verin's [[spoiler:revelation that she has been TheMole among the Black Ajah and her HeroicSacrifice that lets her spill the beans to Egwene]]. Those two Accepted who always march Elayne and Egwene around when they are in trouble might also qualify.

* ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' opens on two Anglo-Saxons: Gurth, a swineherd, and Wamba, a jester. They playfully banter, making a linguistic observation in the style of StevenWright. Wamba misdirects the local man of the cloth and a Knight Templar away from the home of Cedric, the local thane, in order to protect Cedric's daughter from unwanted advances. (They make it to the castle anyway, making for an uncomfortable dinner.)
** While it would be an exaggeration to call those two main characters, they do get more characterization and some plot-relevant moments later in the book; Wamba even manages to [[spoiler:free his master Cedric from his jail cell in their enemies' castle]] virtually all by himself, by the simple expedient of a clever disguise.

* Opera managers Richard and Moncharmin in ''ThePhantomOfTheOpera''.
** This trope continues into the stage show with these two (in which their names are changed to Andre and Firmin). There isn't even consistency in casting; sometimes Andre is the short one, sometimes it's Firmin. Often an actor will play both roles during their run with the show, being cast as one essentially means you can play the other just as well.
*** Apparently the only person who can tell them apart is the Opera Ghost who addresses their notes accordingly.

* Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan, the Monster Hunters, in Derek Landy's ''[[SkulduggeryPleasant The Maleficent Seven]]'', qualify as they are primarily used for comic relief. While shown to be very talented fighters, they never take centre stage except for the purposes of comedy.

* Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan, the Monster Hunters, in Derek Landy's [[SkulduggeryPleasant The Maleficent Seven]], qualify as they are primarily used for comic relief. While shown to be very talented fighters, they never take centre stage except for the purposes of comedy.

* Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan, the Monster Hunters, in Derek Landy's The Maleficent Seven, qualify as they are primarily used for comic relief.

* William Shakespeare and Palamedes in ''The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel''.

* Charlie and Fanwell, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's two apprentices, in the ''No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' novels.

* Elaina ni Leonor and Kara ni Lain are Those Two [[ActionGirl Action Girls]] in {{Harald}}..

* Bella's friends Mike, Jessica, Angela, and Eric in {{Twilight}}. Also the members of the wolfpack who aren't Jacob, Sam, Leah, and Seth.

* Some of ''{{Redwall}}'''s {{PunchClockVillain}}s appear in pairs, but aren't nasty enough to qualify as ThoseTwoBadGuys. Lousewort and Sneezewort from ''The Long Patrol''are probably the most memorable.