How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He'd say "I love you" to every man in the squad before rolling out, say it straight, with no joking or smart-ass lilt and no warbly Christian smarm in it either, just that brisk declaration like he was tightening the seat belts around everyone's soul. Then other Bravos started saying it but they hedged at first, blatting "I love you man" in the tearful desperate voice of the schmuck in the Budweiser ad, but as the hits piled up and every trip outside the wire became an exercise in the full pucker, nobody was playing anymore. (Virtue.56)
Shroom's like the Yoda of Bravo Company. His unabashed expression of his love for his fellow Bravos made him unique, because it showed strength of self that many of those kids hadn't achieved yet. But when push came to shove, after they'd really been through some stuff together, the rest of Bravo finally jumped on board Shroom's love boat.
Quote #2
"Listen, you see these men?" Dime gestures around the table. "I love every one of these mutts like a brother, I bet I love them more than their mommas even, but I'll tell you frankly, and they know how I feel so I can say this right in front of them, but just for the record, this is the most murdering bunch of psychopaths you'll ever see. I don't know how they were before the Army got them, but you give them a weapons system and a couple of Ripped Fuels and they'll blast the hell out of anything that moves. Isn't that right, Bravo?"
They answer instantly, with gusto, Yes, Sergeant! (Virtue.85)
Does a violent nature necessarily conflict with feelings of fraternal love? We don't know—ask Butch and Sundance, or Whitey Bulger and his brother William, or Wolverine and Sabretooth….
Quote #3
By then Dime was weeping too, both of them hacking, gagging on snot, covered in mud and blood and sweat as if they'd just that moment climbed gasping and retching from some elemental pit of primordial sludge. I knew it would be you, Dime was hissing over and over, his mouth a butane torch in Billy's ear, I knew it would be you, I knew it I knew it I so f***ing knew it I am so f***ing goddamn proud of you, then he grabbed Billy's face in both his hands and kissed him full on the lips like a stomp, a whack with a rubber mallet. […] You couldn't put this in a movie and have people understand, not based on any movie Billy's ever seen. If you could, then he'd say, Okay, put it in, he could give a flying f*** if people think it's gay, but it would have to be done with real shrewdness and skill…(Virtue.97)
Just because two guys kiss, that doesn't make them gay. Duh. Billy and Dime were both in an emotionally heightened firefight. Their buddy is dead. Billy quite possibly saved everyone's lives. A kiss is the least thing Dime could do to express his gratitude and relief in such a situation.