A/N: This oneshot came to me at about 2 in the morning after the song "Wake Me Up" played on the radio. The 3 lines mentioned are the only three that were relevant to the story, and were actually the entire inspiration. I wrote it after seeing 2x05 and the promos for 2x06, so in this story, neither 2x06 nor 2x07 have happened yet. Yes, the title had to change after I noticed a story with the title I'd intended was used. Apologies if there is one I missed and used someone else's, I promise that was not intentional!

Thanks for all the reviews, favs and follows after my first story, Peace. The response was incredible and I thank you. Here's another one I hope you enjoy! Again, not beta'd, and reviews/feedback are always welcome!

Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters belong to me, I'm just an Olicity shipper borrowing them for fun.

Realizatons (Wake Me Up)

It wasn't Arrow business that opened his eyes. It wasn't QC business, or even another man. It was a damnably catchy song he heard while he, Felicity and Digg were putting in a required appearance for Thea at Verdant. She had managed to get rising DJ Avicii to play there for a Glades fundraiser, and his latest single was playing in the background.

"So wake me up when it's all over. When I'm wiser and I'm older..."

Oliver didn't really hear the lyrics, he was too busy making sure Roy was behaving himself around his baby sister. What he saw instead was Felicity chatting happily with Thea. He hadn't realized that Thea had remembered Felicity was a friend. And he certainly hadn't realized that his 5 month absence, and subsequent 'promotion' of Felicity to his EA, would put those two in enough contact to strike up a friendship of their own.

"All this time I was finding myself, and I didn't know I was lost..."

It was as he observed them, their familiarity with each other and the ease in which Felicity fit into every important aspect of his life, that everything clicked.

He was lost. He juggled all of the Olivers people expected- the playboy, the CEO, the partier, the cement for the Queen family that had been ripped apart, the dutiful son, Laurel's guardian angel, even the Arrow. All of them were aspects of himself, but not a one of them in and of itself were him in his entirety. It was exhausting to be all, even more so when he was found lacking.

There was only one woman who knew and accepted every part of him that he was willing to give. He'd seen the hurt flash as she realized he wouldn't unburden some of his island memories on her. He'd wished then that he could explain he didn't want one of her best qualities-her innocence was still mostly there despite her unofficial title as the brains of team Arrow-destroyed by the horrors of the island. He'd overheard a conversation between her and Diggle though, one he'd never let on he'd heard. She was just happy he talked to someone, and she understood there was a common bond of war and actual combat between them. It was one more reminder of how her acceptance of him blew him away.

"I tried carrying the weight of the world, but I only had two hands..."

She pushed him, but it had always been clear to him that it was because she knew he could be better. She was always there to pick up the pieces when he fell; subtly starting him on the path of being put back together. Well, subtle was perhaps not the right word; Oliver doesn't think she knows the meaning of the word. Then again, for all her rambling, perhaps she did. It was, after all, just now he was realizing how much better he was because of her. That old cliché of "my better half" suddenly made complete sense to Oliver, because there was honestly no better way to describe Felicity. She was the hands holding him up as he tried to hold up the world that was Starling City.

Almost as if she felt the weight of his stare, Felicity looked over at him. She then got a puzzled look on her face before she started looking around, clearly for someone. He realized he had a real smile on his face, and she had no clue why. He started walking towards Thea and Felicity, lighter from his realization. Oliver also felt a sense of urgency; looking back at his mistakes, particularly one Ms. Rochev recently, Felicity would have to be a saint to be waiting for him. She was remarkable, but she was definitely not a saint. He reached them fairly quickly considering how crowded the club actually was.

"Ollie! There you are! You just missed the funniest story about the idiots Felicity keeps dating." Oliver started, completely stunned by what Thea just said. Felicity had been dating? Who? And was he already too late?

"Really Thea, I don't think Oliver cares about my dating life," Felicity interjected. Oliver looked at Felicity, letting her know with his eyes he cared all right.

"Felicity, one of your dates actually told you his dream girl would give up her career for marriage. As if someone as brilliant as you could do that. Another one kept asking you to fix his 'laptop.' (Thea used air quotes for that last word, letting Oliver know what exactly he meant). And this last one that you claim also graduated from MIT was so unromantically logical you paid for your dinner, which by the way makes it a hangout, not a date. Besides, the things they say to you. I mean, it's funny. I just can't understand where you find them. You deserve so much better! We'll find you someone. Ollie, you know of any decent guys worthy of our Felicity here?" Oliver finally tore his gaze from Felicity to look at Thea. He was distracted enough (and yes, jealous enough) by the thought of another man with his hands on Felicity he missed the mischievous glint in Thea's eyes.

"Can't say that I do," Oliver replied. It was clear he was going to say more but Felicity, desperate for the conversation to take a different turn, blurted out the reason for her puzzled look earlier.

"I take it the reason for your smile earlier was Laurel finding you?"

"Laurel was looking for me?"

"Yeah, she looked a bit surprised I didn't know. I guess as your assistant I'm supposed to know where you are 24/7." Felicity rolled her eyes.

"Well if not Laurel, what was the reason for the smile?" Thea asked. She was very aware of the unspoken relationship between Oliver and Felicity. It was something she had first noticed when Walter had been found, but saw changing both before and after...Tommy. Thea was aware Felicity cared deeply for her brother. She had seen his face change as he watched them, had spent enough time around Oliver to know when he had realized he was being an idiot by ignoring the amazing woman in front of him. She'd been rooting for them for a while, so she was not above helping things along.

"I just remembered something funny, is all." Oliver replied, still stewing over the idea of Felicity dating. It didn't sound like it ever went well, but why didn't he know about it and when did she really have the time?

"Oh. Well come on Felicity, we'll go mingle and scope out a much better guy for you to date." Thea looked at Oliver while she pretended to look around the room for potential matches as she said it, and almost squealed with glee. She definitely had NOT imagined the slight darkening of Oliver's face. Felicity didn't seem to notice, she was too busy looking at Thea in horror.

"Actually, Felicity, one of our potential donors was asking about you. I think it was the Brumbaughs? Something about how you helped his niece with her computer? You may be the push we need to secure his donation. Shall we?" Oliver bit back a smile at her obvious relief, and offered his arm. Felicity took it, now somewhat used to what decorum required of her. She always had been a fast learner, and this was a town full of sharks. It was sink or swim with the elite, and Felicity never had been a fan of sinking.

"Thank you for rescuing me. Thea has been determined to play matchmaker for me once I told her I was done with it. I don't have the time really and none of those guys are..." you, the word went unspoken between them but it still delighted Oliver. He wasn't too late. Felicity, aware of her near slip, continued instead with, "...right. Anyway, it's kinda tough to explain why I can't be detached from my phone, or why I'm always working when technically I'm just an assistant. Oliver Queen is very public so everyone knows you have a personal life and I'm just going to stop talking now, ok?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you going all big brother on me like you do Thea. Believe me, I ran background checks on the guys and their families to make sure there would be no surprises."

"Trust me, I do not think of you as a little sister-"

"Ollie, do you have a minute?" Laurel's voice broke in to the cocoon Oliver was spinning, annoying him.

"Actually, Laurel, we need to meet with some potential donors. May I find you after?" Felicity had started to pull away when she heard Laurel's voice, but Oliver subtly tightened his grip on her, refusing to let her go. She looked at him, surprise evident on her face. The exchange was noticed by Laurel, who realized then that what she was about to talk to Oliver about was probably not going to happen, but she had to find out.

"It'll only take a minute. Please?" Oliver looked at Felicity, and they appeared to have an entire conversation with just those looks. Felicity nodded to Oliver before saying,

"I'll go and talk to the Brumbaughs, Oliver. It was me they had wanted to see anyway. Laurel, you look great. I shall see you later." With that Felicity walked away in search of her quarry, and Oliver was left alone with Laurel.

"Shall we?" Oliver asked politely, using his hand to indicate she walk in front of him.

"Yes," Laurel said and headed towards a more private setting. When they had both arrived, she looked at Oliver. He had his super polite, I'm waiting look. She'd only seen it after he got back from the island. She wasn't quite sure how to begin.

"Oliver, I know we haven't had much of a chance to talk recently, but I wanted to thank you for helping me past that rough patch after...after Tommy."

"It's no problem. I thought we had agreed we were going to be friends, and that is what friends do." Oliver smiled at that, but his eyes showed his mind was not on their friendship at all. Laurel nearly stopped there, but she had promised herself no more regrets.

"Yes, we are friends. But I was thinking that maybe we rushed assuming Tommy was wrong about how we really felt about each other?"

"Laurel, I...I don't think we've rushed any assumption. Part of me will always care about you. And I will be there for you anytime you need. But you and I." Oliver stopped, searching for the right words. "You and I are different people than we were. We've grown, and in ways that don't sync with each other. You are an amazing woman Laurel, but you know as well as I do that we don't love each other like that anymore. You deserve to be happy, and it's taken me two years to realize that I am not the person you will find that with. So go and find someone who can. Live your life, and be with someone who deserves you."

"She must really be special, Ollie."

"Who?"

"The blonde, your assistant. What's her name?"

"Felicity. And she is. Smart too. In fact, she may choose to not have me," Oliver said ruefully. At that, Laurel laughed.

"You mean, she is immune to your charm? Well, I saw the way she looked at you. She loves you, so as an attorney I'd advise you to act fast. Girls like that don't stay single long." Laurel laughed again at the strange cross between pained and panicked look on Oliver's face. She kissed him on the cheek, hugged him and as she left, she said, "You deserve to be happy too, Ollie. Good luck."

She came across the blonde on her way out.

"Laurel! Hi! Where's Oliver? Um, not that you're his keeper or anything, I mean I guess technically as his assistant I'm supposed to be but I figured he'd be with...you. I'm going to stop talking now, " Felicity ended on a blush. Laurel laughed again, she could see why her now.

"Oh, he's probably looking for you. Go easy on him, ok? Nice to meet you officially Felicity." With that, Laurel walked away. There was someone who she wanted to see, now that she had cleared the air with Oliver. Like her on most nights, he was probably at the office. Hopefully he wasn't one who minded being turned down once before...

Felicity stood gazing stupidly after Laurel, confused by her demeanor. Come to think of it, Oliver was being weird too. Well, weirder than usual. She searched around the club, sure she was going to find Oliver pursuing Laurel. Instead, she found him walking rather determinedly towards her. When he reached her, Felicity asked in very quiet undertones,

"Everything ok? Is there trouble at the other office?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Laurel just wanted to talk. We're done now, you ready to sweet talk some more people into donating?"

"You mean, she didn't want to get back together?"

"Felicity, she and I are just friends. We've both moved on with our lives. Shall we?"

Oliver held out his arm again to point the way, and when Felicity walked just in front of him, he placed a hand at the small of her back. As they walked together, looking very much like the couple Oliver intended them to be by the end of the night, they were stopped by several other donors. When Oliver's patience had run thin because dammit he really just wanted to talk to Felicity, he started leading her towards a much more intimate setting.

"I was able to talk the Brumbaughs into a larger donation than they had expected, by the way," Felicity said as they walked.

"Yeah? How much more?" When Felicity gave him a figure that was followed by six zeroes, his jaw actually dropped before he laughed. "You are remarkable, Felicity. How did you manage to quadruple the figure they told me they were only thinking about?"

"Well, I let them know that donations tended to buy public goodwill. If you have goodwill, people buy your product. People buy your product, profit goes up. The larger the sum, the more people remember you and the more they tend to buy. It's a simple concept, really." Oliver laughed again.

"Remind me to never be in your crosshairs."

"What makes you think you haven't been already?" Felicity smiled teasingly.

"Hmmm, you know you're right. I do have a tendency to come around to your way of thinking, don't I? Sometimes it just takes me a while."

"Yes, but I always have faith that you will."

"I know. You know I don't deserve that, right?"

"You've yet to prove otherwise, Oliver. The exception to that being Laurel. Which by the way, not back together? Moved on? Who are you and what did you do with the Oliver I know?"

"He's right here, actually. And he would like to thank you for the help getting to that point."

"That's what a friend and trusty sidekick is for," Felicity quipped.

"Friends," Oliver mused. "Is that all we are?" Oliver saw the panic flash in Felicity's eyes. Yes, he definitely still had a chance. He knew her well enough to know that she was panicked about him picking up on her crush on him. Which, as he thought about it, wasn't exactly a secret. And since Laurel had mentioned her loving him, he rather hoped that was the case. It would make how he felt so much easier to deal with.

"Well, yes. Sidekick, friend, assistant, IT genius. Did I miss anything?"

"Just one," Oliver murmured as he pulled Felicity against him. He leaned in to kiss her. Just before he did, he whispered, "Mine."

Felicity couldn't breathe. Oliver was kissing her. She could taste the desperation, the passion, the...love? This was unlike any kiss she'd ever had, so she didn't trust herself on the last one. Still, he'd called her his.

Oliver knew kissing Felicity was going to change things. He didn't know she was going to respond as enthusiastically as she did. And he absolutely didn't expect that she was going to feel like home. He'd never felt this way, not even with Laurel. When they separated, it was only because they both needed air to breathe.

"Keep kissing me like that, Oliver Queen, and that will become my favorite title," Felicity said when she had pulled enough oxygen in to speak. Oliver laughed, content for the first time in a long while. He didn't want to break out of this little bubble quite yet, but he knew there would be plenty more moments like this with her. He laughed again as another thought struck him.

"Good. But just wait until you ramble on again with your intended innuendos."

"Oh, God. Mercy, Oliver, I'm begging for mercy now."

"Nope. You know me too well for that. Before we head out to face the public...are you sure you want to do this? Being the girlfriend of the playboy Queen is a completely different set of challenges."

"Oliver, if anything, it will just confirm the rumors that you and I have been sleeping together. If we go public, the gossip will most likely die down. Should help our cause, actually. Besides, you think now that I have you, I'm willing to let you go?" Oliver kissed her again.

"Good. I'm difficult, and most likely will be over protective."

"So...nothing changes there. Oliver, we'll figure it out. Now," Felicity said as she fixed his crooked tie. "Let's go get some more money from people who can afford it, shall we?"

"I don't deserve you, but absolutely."

"You do Oliver. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to you trying to prove otherwise," Felicity teased as they headed back into the crowded club.

Thea had seen them disappear and reemerge. She spotted the subtle difference immediately and grinned. Walking over to them, she heard the familiar banter between them. It would be nice to have some things in order, and to see Felicity banish a few more of the shadows in Ollie's eyes. For now, she was happy for them. And maybe now he would ease up on Roy.

She could hope, anyhow.