Disclaimer: You thought I owned LOST? Ha! No, just playing around in the universe; it's owned by ABC and other companies and people, just not me!

A/N: This fic is inspired by a challenge over at so if you want to see more weird pairings; go over there.

Spoilers: House of the Rising Sun, Solitary, Exodus Part One and Two; speculation on what might happen next season

Jin had been right; the island was a place of punishment, and now the island was punishing her.

Sun couldn't remember how many hours she had sat on the beach; she couldn't remember the nights she had sat up waiting for him, but when Michael had returned, distraught, fatigued, and, most importantly, alone, Sun had lost hope. She could still recall the look of pain in Michael's face when he told her the news.

Jin had gone to save her, but in the end, his life had ended too, to save her. She felt guilt and anger; why hadn't he listened to her? Of course, there was nothing she could do now, but the guilt made the grief more manageable something else to dwell on other than the hole in her heart.

"Sun." Sun was vaguely aware that someone had just said her name, but she thought it might just be a hallucination; she had had a few since she had stopped eating and drinking regularly. "Sun, you need to eat."

Sun turned to see who was speaking to her, her head started to swim and she couldn't make out who was approaching her. "I'm not hungry," she said thickly, her voice dry and cracked. "Please, leave me alone."

Whomever it was, decided to ignore her comment and pushed something into her hands. Sun looked up at the face; it was dark and surrounded by a mass of black curls. Sun thought for a moment and then realized it was Sayid. "I'm not hungry," she repeated, feeling a headache coming on; maybe if he would leave her alone it would go away.

"You're right, you're not hungry," Sayid said, and for a moment, Sun thought he saw things her way. "You're starving." Sun's hopes were dashed. "You need to eat something; you'll feel better."

Sun brushed past him, intent on heading to the caves; it was easier to forget about Jin there for some reason. However, she hardly made it three steps before she stumbled. Before the she landed in the sand, Sayid had caught her arm. "You must eat something, Sun," he told her. "You're weak and starving yourself won't help or change anything."

Sun glared up at him, but Sayid was intent and led her into the shade, forcing her to sit down and eat the fruit he had brought her. After a few bites, Sun conceded that Sayid might have a point about food; she certainly felt better. She made it halfway through the papaya before remember that Jin would never eat food of any kind anymore; suddenly the papaya was no longer appetizing. "I'm not hungry," repeating herself again.

"Sun, you've hardly eaten anything in over a week," Sayid said gently. "You need to eat. The only person you're hurting is yourself. Please, Sun, you need to eat."

Sun turned to look at Sayid, feeling apathetic and dejected. "I don't want to eat," she said. "I don't want to live. Jin went to save me, and he died. I don't deserve to live." Sun was slightly pleased by the shocked look on Sayid's face; she wanted someone to know her pain and feel it. She also just wanted to be left alone.

"How can you say that you don't deserve to live?" Apparently, her attempt to get to Sayid did not work since he seemed even more determined to force her to eat. "Jin loved you; now, he's dead, but do you think he wants you to join him there? Sun, just because Jin's dead it doesn't mean that the world is over." Sun looked up into Sayid's face, and she saw a sad, wistful smile on his face. "At least you told him how much you loved him before he died, I did not have such a luxury. To tell the one person I love just how much I loved them before they died."

Sun was shocked by Sayid's revelation. He had lost someone he loved and not been able to say how much he loved her? Sun shuddered and wondered how horrible she would feel if she hadn't worked up the courage to go and find Jin that day. Whatever guilt she felt now she knew would be one hundred times worse if she had never made up with Jin. "Please, Sun," Sayid's gentle voice prodded. "Just eat something, it will make you feel better."

Sun resumed eating her papaya and Sayid smiled at her. Sun gave a weak smile in return, her thoughts dwelling on the woman he had mentioned. "Do you think she knew how much you loved her?" Sun finally asked when she had finished the papaya.

Sayid looked at her puzzled; his gorgeous brown eyes intent and sincere. "Who?"

"The woman you spoke of? Did she know?" Sun prompted.

"Oh," Sayid said, realizing of whom she spoke, "I'm not sure. I hope she knew, but I cannot say if she did or not."

Sun stared off into the ocean, so beautiful and powerful. "I'm sure she did, Sayid. A woman always knows when a man loves her, even if she's too afraid to admit it to herself."

Sun turned back to Sayid just in time to see a small smile spread across his face. "Thank you, Sun. That's very considerate to offer your opinion about her, and I certainly hope you're right," Sayid told her.

The sat together as the sun sank into the ocean; as the sky turned from a beautiful blue to brilliant orange/red, then fairy pink and finally a dusky purple. "I must go," Sayid said, breaking their comfortable silence, but Sun heard a tinge of regret in his voice.

Sayid stood up next to her and offered his hands to her. Sun took his hands and then stood next to him in the twilight. "You need to eat again," he said softly, his breath brushing her cheek.

"I'll eat," she promised and then looked up into his eyes. She wanted to thank him: for the food, the hope and the peace, but when their eyes met, the words got stuck in her throat. All she could manage was a small smile and hope her eyes told him the rest of the story.

"You're welcome," he whispered and then kissed her gently on the forehead. "Now I must go." Sun nodded sadly; she understood, even if she did not want him to go, he was needed. He glanced around and plucked a flower from the ground near by, handing it to her. "But I'll always be here for you."

Sayid left her then, and Sun was grateful. He didn't need to see the tears fall from her eyes silently. The flower she held in her hands, the one had just gave her, it was similar to the one Jin had given her in the airport. The one that made her get on the plane…

Maybe fate wasn't punishing them after all, as she watched Sayid's form disappear into the darkness; maybe fate knew exactly what they needed after all.

Reviews are a pretty present in my inbox! They would be much appreciated, in case you didn't guess that.