I feel the need to disclaim the "lack of strong female characters". It's *true* in a lot of cases, but not *always* true. Everyone has different reasons for reading different kinds of stories and pairings.

And, well, as far as not previously established as gay... Sometimes establishing them as gay is part of the story you're reading. Sometimes it's based on metatextual reading (Due South and The Sentinel and both known for having outtakes of their two male leads being sexual toward each other, although often played for laughs). Sometimes it's just a "hey, what if?" Once you're telling stories about a world, why not tell any story?

And, ha ha, I find it hard to believe that with those nails those women are choosing other women when they're not being paid. (Some are, yes.) Fantasy is fantasy :)