Actually, although they don't seem to do this anymore, old-school Trek fics used the ampersand to denote friendship/buddy/BFF relationships the same way they'd use a "/" for slash. I wish people would re-adopt that convention, because it's so... well... LOGICAL.

Kirk/McCoy = homosexual pairing (regardless of fic rating)

Kirk&McCoy = non-romantic close friends

I really like that. Seems clear to me.