A/N: This fic was posted on AO3 yesterday but I thought I'd post it here as well. So, if you've read it there you can stop reading this. You're excused. Be free, my child. If you haven't read it on there then I hope you'll enjoy this! I've been reading Arrow fics for a while now and I finally decided to try writing one myself. I haven't done this in a long time but I'm going to do my best and I hope you'll join me in this journey. The first chapter is short and there's no Olicity interaction yet, but I wanted to get the general idea out there. The next chapter is done and will probably be posted later today. Please leave a review if you liked this chapter (or if you didn't - I haven't written in a while and I could use constructive criticism as well to be honest). The title of this chapter is from the song The Reason by Hoobastank, which is a perfect song for Olicity if you ask me. I don't own the song or Arrow.

Felicity Smoak had a normal life. She woke up every morning at 7 A.M. sharp, had a cup of coffee because seriously, she needed her daily dose of caffeine, and was out the door by 8 to go to her job at Queen Consolidated, where she was one of many I.T. specialists. After work she would collapse on her couch with a glass of wine and Netflix and every once in a while she went out with her best friend, Sara Lance. Her life was normal. Not eventful, one might even call it boring, but she was content with it. She worked hard for every opportunity she got, and took pride in that - even if her career wasn't quite where she wanted it to be yet. Things did not happen to her, they just didn't. So, imagine her surprise when one day Laurel Lance walked into her office - and consequently changed her life forever.

She'd been working on her daily workload and was just stifling a yawn (having a Game of Thrones marathon until 3 A.M.? Not a good idea) when the gorgeous brunette came in. "Felicity, right? Can I call you Felicity?"

Felicity, having a hard time not feeling like a toddler in panda flats compared to the perfectly put together brunette in front of her desk, stammered out a response. "Yes! That's me. And yes, you can." She leaned forward in her chair while adjusting her glasses. "I'm sorry, you are?"

The woman smiled at her and extended a perfectly manicured hand. "Laurel Lance. I'm Sara's sister."

"Oh! Oh wow I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you. I mean, I've seen pictures of you and Sara when you were younger but back then you didn't look like…" Felicity gestured towards Laurel and kept moving her hands around while she continued to speak, "Not that you didn't look good back then! I'm pretty sure you're one of those people who hasn't had a bad hair day since they were like 5 years old. I think you and Sara both inherited that gene actually. That annoyed me to no end when we were living together, because you do not want to see this in the morning." She gestured at her own face and hair now, and suddenly realized what she was saying to this woman who was basically a stranger. Her eyes went wide and she scrambled to conclude her ramble. "What I was trying to say is that you used to look different. Hence the not recognizing. Sorry."

Laurel just smiled at her and put the briefcase Felicity hadn't noticed she was holding on her desk. "Sara told me you were cute. You'll do just fine."

The blonde just stared at her with a dumbfounded look on her face. "I'll do fine at what exactly?"

"I'm also Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen's campaign manager," she started to explain while rummaging through her briefcase. "I'm assuming I don't have to explain to you who he is?" She finally found what she was looking for and handed Felicity a small business card.

Felicity looked at the card for a second, quickly scanning what seemed to be Laurel's contact information. Of course she knew who Oliver Queen was. Everyone in a 100 mile radius of Starling City knew who Oliver Queen was. Son of Moira and Robert Queen (who also happened to be the owner of the company she worked at), reformed play boy, currently running for mayor. Not that she would admit it to anyone but back in the day watching TMZ had been her guilty pleasure, and they basically had a weekly segment dedicated to the adventures of Oliver Queen. Therefore she knew a lot more about Oliver than she probably should, everything from the time he peed on a cop, to the time he got really drunk and woke up in Paris with no recollection of how he got there.

She quickly nodded, sensing she was on the verge of starting to ramble about that as well. "So you may also know about his… questionable reputation." Laurel rolled her eyes while speaking, clearly disapproving of Oliver's slightly problematic past. Felicity couldn't help but snort at that, which clearly amused the other woman. "That reaction is about right. So, and this is the part where you might have a few questions…." Laurel twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, looking slightly nervous for the first time since she'd walked into her office. "I've been talking to Oliver's mother and we both agreed that his reputation isn't doing him any favours in his campaign. People don't take him seriously, they don't believe that he's changed. People won't vote to let a guy who spends his time sleeping around and getting drunk, be their mayor. And well, changing an opinion like that requires a… seemingly permanent solution. Which is why we decided that Oliver needs to get married," she finished, looking at Felicity expectantly.

The blonde just raised an eyebrow. "Okay….." she said slowly, "that's great. Good for him. Do you need me to do a background check on the potential wife or something? Make sure she's you know, respectable enough to be a Queen?"

Laurel was now looking at anything but her. "Oh, you won't have to do a background check."

The words were laced with meaning, and looking back at it, Felicity would feel embarrassed about how long it took a reasonably smart woman like her to get the hint. In her defense, things like this did not happen to a girl like her. It wasn't even in the realm of possibilities. So while someone else might've already caught on, she continued to look at the other woman with a confused look on her face. "So… what then?"

The brunette scrunched up her face a little, and later Felicity would note that she at least had the courtesy to look embarrassed about what she was asking of her. "We need you to be Oliver Queen's wife."