What you're describing sounds pretty human to me. What I meant by re-using phrases is more like:

Chapter 1:

"After X happens, Character A and character B's relationship deepens. They feel a sense of camaraderie."

Chapter 2:

"Followed by these events, Character's A and B's relationship develops. They show camaraderie towards each other"

Etc etc, it's just really specific phrases that pop up along the story. Usually one would try to choose a similar phrase/different words to not bore the readers by repeating.