I just read a bunch of the stories, and I had to keep telling myself that it was a cultural thing, men just walked arm in arm back then. And when Watson talks about thier "intimate" relations he is in fact referring to them being roommates. But even with me reminding myself that times were different, there's the whole bit in The Adventure of the Norwood Builder where Holmes basically bought Watson's medical practice so he would come back to live with him. And then before that, I mean there are no stories between The Final Problem and The Adventure of the Empty House, right? So in TFP Watson's wife is away visiting family or something (she conveniently went "to visit family" a lot, is all I'm saying), so he can go gallivanting about Europe with Holmes and then in TAofEH when Holmes comes back from being fake dead a)Watson faints and b)no mention is made of his beardwife at all whatsoever. Not even to say that she kicked the bucket, she just, like, stayed on her pre-Reichenbach Falls vacation and never came back. So even Mrs. Watson doesn't think there's a heterosexual explanation.