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One particularly sunny afternoon, after Moiraine and Siuan had returned from a fishing trip, Siuan walked into their room to find Moiraine sitting at the mirror, scowling at her reflection. Immediately, Siuan went up to her and placed a hand on her back. The other Accepted relaxed a little, before turning to Siuan and sighing.
"What's wrong, Pufferfish?" Siuan asked, smoothing down Moiraine's hair and placing a hand on her cheek, thumb gently caressing her soft skin. Moiraine sighed again, before she opened her mouth to explain.
"I forgot to bring a hat today," she said. "And I'm getting freckles again. Just when I thought they'd finally gone."
Siuan peered at Moiraine. There was a tiny sprinkling of freckles on her nose and cheeks, barely there, and a little pinkness from the sun. To Siuan, Moiraine looked perfectly adorable, as always, but she knew Moiraine would disagree if she said so. Instead, she traced a finger over the slope of Moiraine's nose, smiling at her love.
"Did you know," she said, "That there's a thing in Tear where people think that freckles are where your lover used to kiss you in your past life?"
"Really? All I know is that in my family, it was unbecoming to have them. Because it made it seem like we spent too long outside, like those gardeners or farmers or something."
Siuan nodded, gently tracing along Moiraine's eyebrows, then her nose again, then along her jaw. "Mhm," she said. "And if I'm being honest, I think you look adorable. Freckles or no."
Moiraine turned back to the mirror, but not before she took one of Siuan's hands in hers.
"If what you say is true, that would be a lot of kisses," she said, staring at her face. "Are you sure?"
Siuan laughed, resting her chin on Moiraine's head, nuzzling her gently.
"Very," she said. "There'd have to be a lot of kisses, wouldn't there? Since we're forever bound together by the Wheel."
Moiraine narrowed her eyes in thought. "That makes sense," she said. "But why do they only show up in the sun, then?"
Siuan thought for a moment, using the hand that wasn't holding Moiraine's to rub her back. "Because when you're in the sun, that's when we spend time together and when we're happy," she said. "When we go fishing or something similar."
Moiraine turned back round to look at Siuan. "Very true," she said, wrapping her arms around Siuan's waist. "I suppose I don't mind them as much, then. I'll just think of you kissing me whenever I look at them."
Siuan giggled, then leaned in to kiss the bridge of Moiraine's nose, then a little lower, then the tip.
"There," she said. "Cute. You can barely see them, don't worry. If you're worried about them being obvious, just look over at mine. I always have them, anyway."
"But they suit you," Moiraine pointed out. "They complement you perfectly. Not like whatever this is." She gestured to her face, those perfect, beautiful porcelain-doll features that always made Siuan's breath hitch in her chest.
Siuan cupped Moiraine's face in both hands, leaning down to kiss her on her lips, before wrapping her arms around her.
"You're perfect," she said. "Everyone says there's no such thing as true perfection, but they're lying. Because true perfection is you."
Moiraine smiled, shifting to hug Siuan properly. "And you," she said. "We're both equals, so if I'm perfect, that means you're perfect too."
"Okay, Pufferfish," Siuan said, squeezing Moiraine gently. "You promise to stop worrying about your freckles? No reason to, not when you're my perfect future fishwife."
Moiraine leaned into Siuan. "Okay," she said, tucking her head under Siuan's chin. "Mmm. What say we share out the leftover fish with the other Novices, then go to the kitchens for some honeycakes?"