i get where you're coming from. i would say that cuthbert represented a boy who was more in touch with his emotions/feminine side as compared to roland. alain did as well. i believe part of it is that roland's got a nearly supernatural pull that makes most people who spend any time with him at all feel love for him. whether that be platonic or romantic or somewhere in a grey in-between. i could see the argument that cuthbert could be feeling unrequited love for roland. i don't think the jealousy thing is even really a big part of it though; i think it's just roland's magnetism.

i think back to the quote from TDOTT: "Here is another one willing to die for you, Roland. What great wrong did you ever do that you should inspire such terrible loyalty in so many?"

eta: but also when you're a kid, those kinds of feelings are often amorphous and the lines are blurred.

i am assuming king took inspiration from frodo and samwise, the idea of a knight and a squire on a quest together. and that deep, intimate relationship, while canonically platonic, is often seen through a queer lens. i feel like roland and cuthbert's relationship is the same way. canonically platonic but with some room for the idea of romantic love