Is this the sign of a good friend?

I have a friend in the military. We met in '09 and became inseparable until I moved away. Since 2011, I've only seen him once, when he came home for Christmas, we met up and spent 5 days together. Though the whole time since he joined, we text as often as possible, usually for 6-8hrs at a time.

Im a very insecure person and have a habit of letting my insecurities take control...in those cases, I tend to lash out and say mean, depressive, sometimes hateful and always negative things. And despite all of this...he has never just thrown in the towel and given up on me. Just the other night, I asked him why and said "because I want to help you"

Also worth note is that I like this guy, dare I say, love this guy...and HE KNOWS it. He knows I have feelings for him. In fact thats how we became friends...because I hit on him. Though he denied me, I constantly wonder if in fact he likes me too...but is afraid of his feelings, and at the same time realizes just how much we connect. Its such an odd situation.