Some bonds are so strong that they go beyond a handshake, let's call it love. Nothing sexual about it, nothing as impure as that, not even Platonical, just pure unaltered brotherly love.

There was that guy that dragged my unconscious ass from our APC years ago after we got a direct hit from some random IED, I was out cold for a solid hour, he still carried my sorry ass without even knowing my name, we weren't part of the same army or the same country, he went the extra miles, literally, to drop me in the nearest coalition fob, then simply left.

Why? I did asked myself, I'm just a regular everyday motherfucker, that gnawed at me for months, and I did look for him to no avail until I met him by sheer luck on a random tarmac, he didn't had any reason to do so, he just said he felt compelled to do so, that this wasn't right, that it would not had been a good death, not a useful one, he is weird like that.

I got his name and unit, sometimes I called him with no particular reason, eventually I rotated back, he did too, we stayed in contact, 2 years later he was going to mary and he asked me politely if I could be his wingman.

Now, Imagine my French ass in the middle of Palermo, not speaking nor remotely understanding the thick local Italian accent, going to a marriage to be the best guy of a dude I didn't spoke that much with and knowing absolutely no one there, on a whim to repay an invented debt.

The guy was an orphan, grew up alone from one foster to another, getting in trouble like the stupid kid he was until he joined the army on a whim, on his side of the church there was him and me, I don't speak Italian, he don't speak French.

It went surprisingly smoothly and no one asked me shit (the food was excellent), it was 1 in the morning and I was on the beach, a beautiful night, my feet in the water and simply smoking a cigarette, he showed up, the bride went a bit enthusiastic on the champagne and was out cold, he removed his shoes and we just stayed there, nothing was said for what felt like an hour, there was nothing to say, we just appreciated each other company and the gentle sound of the waves, then we slapped each other shoulder, kissed 4 times on the cheeks, he went off to his device and I went back to France, soon after that he got kids, I'm their godfather and talk with them once in a while, him and I meet every year on the same beach at the same hour to not talk and appreciate a bit of serenity in good company.

I never was nor will probably never be this attuned with someone else in my life and I can surely admit that I love the guy, not as a lover, not as family, something else, something weird, the only kind of love you can have towards people you respect more than your respect yourself.