gays in space!

concept: paul visits hugh in the mycelial network while he's working on getting him back. but time runs weirdly in the network, so sometimes it's just hours since hugh has seen paul for the last time, sometimes it's weeks, and on one occasion it's even a few months
and the more often paul visits via jumping, the more often he also appears there in dreams. when he comes via jumping, he's physically tangible for hugh, and hugh usually spends the whole visit in paul's arms, seeking out his touch and his warmth, because the network is cold. when paul comes in his dreams, hugh can't touch him, and the look of yearning on hugh's face breaks paul's heart over and over.
hugh also starts appearing in the real world, just as ghostlike as paul is when he dreamwalks in the network. it's the only time hugh starts feeling some kind of warmth again, and he's desperate for it