a/n: Hello! I decided I'd try my hand at a songfic-y thing. I'm not too sure about how it turned out, but yeah….and please understand, I'm not a One Direction fan girl; I just turned on the radio and it's been stuck in my head all week. (This is based on the song 'One Thing'.

Um…I re-edited it and tried to follow China Dolly's advice on some things to fix (thanks a bunch!). I hope it's a bit better this time around…This is really old because after my last edit, I didn't have the heart to put it up for a good six months, but here it is! I hope you all can enjoy.

Warnings: Um… some slappage and slight family angst, boyxboy, and fluffiness. OOC.

Disclaimer: All song lyrics belong to one directions, and all Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Oh yeah…and some things about the story; the Uchiha and Hyuga families are rivals in…life. This story takes place around New Years and in early January, and whatever city you desire. Neji is a university student and Itachi works at an engineering company. Itachi is 24 and Neji 22.

"One Thing"

Itachi sighed; he was sitting in his favorite café down the street from his work and they were taking an awfully long time to get his order. He knew the café was popular, but really…he'd been waiting for almost half an hour. Finally, a flustered looking waiter hurried over to his seat by the window.

"Sorry for the delay! We're unusually busy today and we're short on staff," he said while expertly sliding a cup of steaming liquid and a plate of food on to the table.

"It's no problem," Itachi said shortly, eyeing the waitress closely. Hee was drop-dead-gorgeous; he had his hair twisted up in to a swishy ponytail, pale skin, lavender eyes, and very nice looking legs. "Short on staff you say?"

"Oh yes," the waiter paused as he was turning away. "The manager couldn't make it today, and since New Year's is coming up soon a lot of the staff headed back to their families for the holidays."

"What about you? Won't you be going back to your family?" Itachi asked, genuinely curious.

The boy paused for a moment. "No," he finally said. "No, I live around here," he said with a soft smile and started heading back to the kitchen.

Itachi frowned. Something had definitely been odd about his response; maybe he was on bad terms with his family?

Itachi chuckled sadly. Well, he could relate to that; after all, he and his father barely spoke nowadays.

During the subsequent week, Itachi frequented the café regularly, even though he had the entire week off from work and his apartment was on the other side of town. He saw the waiter every day, and on the less busy days, he would come sit with him and talk when there was a pause in the constant flow of customers.

It was after one such talk that Itachi realized that he didn't even know the young man's name.

XXX

Three weeks later, and Itachi was back to work as head of the Uchiha Engineering and Energy Development technology department. While he was often busy, he still made a point of dropping by the café to visit the waiter every day; it was odd, he decided, how he was so determined to ask the other's name every time he went, but he always forgot to by the time he left.

Itachi was on one such visit right now, although it was at an unusual time. Fortunately, the waiter worked the night shift on Thursdays, and would be there when Itachi walked in at seven o'clock.

Itachi was startled to see him sitting at Itachi's usual table sipping coffee and sighing as he looked out the window. Itachi hurried over and sat down across from him.

The waiter looked startled, but then went back to staring in to his coffee cup. To Itachi's surprise, he blushed a bit before murmuring "I-I…I almost thought you wouldn't be coming today, it's so late. The café closes in half an hour."

Itachi smiled slowly. So the waiter enjoyed his company to, eh? "Of course I came," Itachi said lightly. "I enjoy coming to talk to you."

The waiter's blush darkened. "I-I do too."

Itachi continued. "You know, this is something I've been wondering; I've known you for about two weeks, but I still don't know your name."

The waiter's head shot up, a startled look in his eyes. His face fell for a moment before he slowly responded. "…Neji. Hyuga Neji."

XXX

Itachi's heart stopped. Hyuga was the name of a prominent military family; Hyuga Neji was the nephew of the head of the Hyuga who was well known for his aggressive demeanor. He knew how dangerous it would be to pursue Neji, especially since he himself came from a long line of police officers, and his own father, Uchiha Fugaku, had always looked down on the Hyuga with disdain. However, one look at the gentle Hyuga's face told Itachi that Neji was well worth it.

Neji fiddled with his fingers awkwardly. "I should get back," he said abruptly and stood up with an irritating sense of déjà vu. This was always what happened when people found out what his name was; they got frightened and ran away.

"No, wait!" Itachi said quickly. "I don't care if you're a Hyuga."

Neji stared at him, and then sat back down. "Are you mad? You…you think you can take on my whole family? They're military obsessed, and since you're obviously not a shinobi-"

Itachi smiled mysteriously as he also realized that Neji didn't know what family he was from. "Yes. After all, I am Uchiha Itachi."

XXX

Neji gasped. He'd heard about Itachi; Itachi was the son of the head of the Uchiha family; the same family that seemed to hate the Hyuga with all their hearts, and nearly every member of the family worked in the police force. He'd admired him from his childhood, and Itachi's choice to join the family engineering company rather than becoming a police officer had given him the strength to break out of the bonds of his family and go to university instead of becoming one of the shinobi in his family. "Y-you're Uchiha Itachi?" he squeaked.

"Yes," Itachi said smiling kindly, "And I'm picking you up from here at nine o'clock tomorrow night and we're going to dinner together." He got up from the table and pressed one of his business cards in to Neji's hands.

Neji, on the other hand, was staring up at Itachi with his mouth slightly open and huge eyes.

"Call me, hm?" Itachi winked down at Neji before brushing his hand over the other's one final time. "See you tomorrow." He left the café, mildly impressed with himself.

Neji stared out the door as Itachi left. He lifted the business card and stared at the number in fancy blue lettering. He blushed dark red, and pressed the card to his lips; he was going to go on a date with the person he'd' looked up to his entire childhood tomorrow night.

XXX

Itachi walked in to the café at nine o'clock the following night. To his enjoyment, he saw Neji blushing at the ground. Itachi licked his lips at the delicious sight in front of him; honestly, the Hyuga looked so edible. "Ready to go?"

Nejii smiled up at him. "Yes." Itachi entwined his fingers with Neji's and smiled when the younger man gripped his hand as if he never intended to let go.

Both men enjoyed the date, and Itachi offered Neji a ride home.

"Thank you, but I really can't-"

"I insist," Itachi said firmly. "The city's dangerous if you're alone at night."

"I suppose," Neji said reluctantly. He frowned; something felt off…he turned his head to the side to see two of his cousins watching him and Itachi.

Neji held back a gasp as one of them raised his eyebrows at Neji before the two left the restaurant. Neji turned back to Itachi.

Itachi frowned; he'd seen Neji's panic. "What's wrong?"

Neji attempted to smile. "It's nothing," he reassured Itachi. "Shall we go?"

Itachi frowned, but didn't pursue the subject further. "Alright."

When they reached the car in the parking lot, Neji was relieved to see that so far, no damage had been done to Itachi's car. Hopefully, things would stay that way and he could protect him.

Itachi eyed Neji out of the corner of his eye; he'd been feeling the urge to lean over and kiss Neji all evening, and while they'd had a nice dinner together at the restaurant, but Neji seemed oblivious to Itachi's desires.

When they finally pulled up in front of Neji's apartment, Itachi stopped the car. Leaning over, he caught Neji's hand before he could open the door.

Neji looked up at him with wide eyes. "What is it?"

"Can I kiss you?" Itachi blurted out without thinking.

Neji's breath came out in a soft gasp; then a soft blush appeared on his cheeks. "O-ok."

Itachi blinked. "Are you sure? Because I mean-"

"Itachi, just shut up and kiss me," Neji said bravely, closing his eyes. He was rewarded by the feeling of Itachi's soft lips on his own.

When he felt Itachi draw away, Neji's eyelids fluttered open. He smiled softly at Itachi, and before he could stop himself, he started giggling softly. Itachi looked surprised, but then started laughing softly too. He leaned in and kissed Neji again, and over and over until-

"Ok, that's enough," Neji said breathlessly, pulling away. "Good night, Itachi." Itachi pulled back to his side of the car, and watched Neji leave with a small smile.

Neji turned back just as he was about to close the car door. "See you tomorrow?" he said uncertainly.

Itachi smiled at him. "See you tomorrow."

XXX

Neji hurried in to his apartment, but gasped in surprise when he saw his two cousins sitting on the couch, and his uncle sitting on the chair in front of the fireplace.

"U-Uncle!" he gasped. "I-I was unaware that y-you would be coming here today-"

"I came here on short notice," Hyuga Hiashi said coldly, standing up and advancing on Neji. "Especially considering an interesting development in Hyuga affairs."

Neji stared at him, fear running rampant across his features. "And what was that?"

"Your cousins were so kind as to inform that you were in a public setting with Uchiha Itachi, our rival family," Hiashi said, stopping directly in front of Neji. "Just what were you thinking?"

Neji swallowed hard and shot a terrified look at his two cousins who both looked horrified at the way things were going. "I-I…"

"You thought that it would be fine to start dating a man; and no, not just any man from that family, but the son of the head of the Uchiha?!" Hiashi exploded. "What do you think people will say about us now? You're not ever to see him again, and we'll be monitoring your movements. You are going to university to study, not to fool around with some boy from a bad family!" Hiashi snarled.

"Itachi's not a bad person just because he isn't a shinobi!" Neji shot back. "He's a good man and I-" Neji faltered slightly at the glint in his uncle's eyes.

"And you…" he sneered. "And you what? Oh Neji, do you love him?"

Neji squared his shoulders, and hoped to dear god that his uncle wouldn't kill him. "Yes, yes I do," he said, staring straight in to his uncle's eyes.

Hiashi lashed out and slapped Neji. The sound of the slap reverberated across the room, but Neji simply stood there with his face turned towards the side.

"Don't come crying to me when he leaves you in the dust," Hiashi snarled. "Do you really think he cares about you? He's an Uchiha; a born liar. He'll break your heart, and you'll realize that you never should have associated with him in the first place!" Hiashi turned away from his nephew and spoke to the wall. "Oh Neji, can't you see I'm trying to do what's best for you?"

"Itachi is the best person for me," Neji said, finding his voice. "You can't stop me from seeing him."

Hiashi sighed, suddenly bone weary. "Do as you wish," he said simply. "And be sure and come to visit some time, Neji."

Neji stayed silent until his family had left his apartment, and then collapsed to the ground in a fit of tears. He'd only known Itachi for a few weeks, but Itachi just had this thing about him that made Neji want to be around him more and more; why couldn't his uncle understand that?

XXX

Itachi frowned as he looked at the caller ID on his cell phone; why on earth was his father calling him at one o'clock in the morning?

"Moshi moshi."

"What have you been doing with the Hyuga boy?'

Itachi sighed; that was his father, getting straight to the point. "We went on a date," he said tiredly. "What of it?"

Fugaku Uchiha frowned on the other side of the phone and struggled to articulate the feelings of worry and care for his oldest son. "You…You know what you're doing right?" Breaking years of hatred between the Hyuga and Uchiha…ah my son, you did always enjoy making a splash. He smiled wryly on his end of the phone.

"Yes, father."

Fugaku sighed in relief, hoping that he'd gotten his message across. "You take care then, and good luck with the boy."

"F-father…" Itachi stared at the phone astonished, not even the slightest bit annoyed that his father had hung up on him.

Itachi smiled; his father seemed to understand that alluring thing about Neji that always drew him in to the other man's presence.

One year later…

Neji stumbled in to the apartment that he now shared with Itachi; his heart beat a little faster as he remembered how Itachi had asked him to move in with him a few months previously. To his surprise, Itachi was sitting at the kitchen table with two bowls of steaming food.

"Wha…?" Neji stared at Itachi blankly, his mind too tired to process anything after his university exams.

Itachi smiled at the adorable expression on his Hyuga's face and got up to take his coat from him. "How were your exams?"

Neji yawned and toed off his shoes. "Exhausting."

Itachi chuckled and looped his arm around Neji's waist. "I can see that," he said as he ushered Neji to the table. "Sit. Eat. You'll feel more alive after you get something warm inside you."

Neji smiled at the sweet, thoughtfulness Itachi always showed him. "Thanks," he murmured before digging in to the meal.

Itachi shifted slightly in his chair; he shouldn't be feeling nervous, he knew how much Neji cared about him, and he didn't really have any doubts, but still…

Neji paused from devouring the delicious udon noodles that Itachi had made him. "Is something wrong?"

Itachi paused, quietly fingering the small velvet box in his pocket. "No, why?"

"You just seem fidgety is all." Neji turned back to his noodles. When Neji was finished, he stood up to go to the sink, but Itachi reached across the table and stopped him.

"Neji…Neji, wait a moment."

Neji blinked at Itachi in confusion, and then sat down again. "Is something the matter?"

Instead of responding, Itachi slipped out of his seat, and knelt down in front of Neji and flicked open a small, black velvet box.

Neji's mouth went dry, and he was pretty sure that Itachi could hear his heart pounding. "I-Itachi, wh-what…?"

Itachi concentrated on Neji's lovely, shocked face staring down at him. "Hyuga Neji," he said slowly and carefully. "Will you marry me?"

Neji stared down at Itachi for a full five seconds (in which Itachi was sure that his heart had stopped beating) before launching himself at the Uchiha and kissing him full on the mouth. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

Itachi laughed and gently disentangled himself from Neji on the kitchen floor before gently sliding the ring on to his right hand and kissing it gently.

Neji beamed at him, and reached up to kiss him again. "Itachi, Itachi, Itachi."

"Neji, Neji…my beautiful, precious, Neji," Itachi said softly, pulling him on to his lap. "I love you."

"I love you too." Neji nuzzled in to Itachi's neck. "Itachi…why do you love me? You could have anyone you wanted. Instead, you go for the failure of the Hyuga family-"

"You just have this thing about you," Itachi cut the younger man off with a finger over his lips. "You have this one thing about you…I don't know what it is, but I need to have it with me."

Neji smiled slowly. "That one thing, huh?"

"Yes," Itachi smiled back while stroking Neji's hair. "You've got that one thing."

a/n: Tell me what you think! R/R please!