You should start streaming some old Animal Planet shows. Grooming each other is a big part of social bonding among many different animals.

Also, the second part is because they've seen what you do when you're alone and know you're a perv.

Humans cuddle platonically/familially. I also wonder if it's maybe not more like holding hands which isn't always romantic among humans depending on culture. Again, arguing 0% on the gayness, my only beef is with the anthropomorphization, and the whole point of acknowledging in the first place is that no human has any real way of knowing what's going on in an animal's head.