I mean, that's why I ship m/m or f/f ships, after all-- because I'm presented with a strong case for how/why these characters get along, instead of being presented with romance plot beats and the expectation that a man and a woman will get together.

+1000. This is why 99% of my ships are either m/m or f/f-- because canon has actually put in the time and effort to show me that these characters get along and care deeply for each other. With m/f, a lot of the time it feels like the writers just assume that because it's a guy and a girl, the chemistry will just be there and they don't have to take the time to write and develop it and that's not the case.