TITLE : Sleepless
SERIES : Puppy (until I can think of something better)
AUTHOR : Anguisette
PAIRING : Maldini/Kaka (Friendship for now)
RATING : G
DISCLAIMER : This never happened, all fiction all the time!
AUTHOR'S NOTES : Takes place after Milan's CL defeat by Depor at the Riazor. Other Milan players mentioned include Nelson Dida, Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Nesta.

Paolo had been waking up to let the puppy out several nights a week for the past few months. His wife always turned a deaf ear to the animal if Paolo was at home, it was her way of silently reminding him that she'd objected to him buying the puppy "for the children." Paolo didn't blame her, he knew that at seven and two and a half the boys were too young to take responsibility for the dog. He supposed it was a good thing the puppy had him trained to wake up at its'slightest noise.

He'd turned on the bedside lamp and was halfway to the door before he realised he was in a Spanish hotel room and not at home. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and wondered what had woken him. He was alone in the room, one of the supposed perks of being captain. He enjoyed the odd occasions on which he had a roommate, years of marriage and kids climbing in the bed made sleeping alone difficult.

There was a soft, breathy noise, remarkably similar to the sound of a dog's snuffle. Paolo completed his walk to the door, opened it and peered out. Huddled against the stretch of wall in between Paolo's room and the next was his young Brazilian teammate. Kaka's head was down, his arms wrapped round the lanky legs drawn up to his chest. Paolo could see the youngster's shoulders shaking and hear the snuffly gasps as he tried to hold back his sobs.

Paolo knelt beside Kaka and touched his shoulder gently, "Why are you out here Ricky?"

"I didn't want to wake Nelson," the Brazilian murmured thickly. "I'm sorry I woke you Paolo."

"That's alright," Paolo reassured him, "but since I am up why don't you come inside?"

"No thank you," Kaka shook his head stubbornly, "I'm okay, I don't want to be a bother."

Paolo sighed and assumed his best "captain" tone, "Ricardo, if you managed to wake me don't you think you might wake some of the others if you stay out here? Andrea and Sandro are across from us and I've roomed with Sandro enough to know that waking him accidentally is a bad idea." Paolo stood and tugged on Kaka's arm, "Come on kid."

Still sniffling, the youngster obeyed, following Paolo inside and standing uncomfortably in the middle of the room.

"Sit," Paolo indicated his bed as he disappeared into the bathroom. He returned with a generous supply of paper which he held to Kaka's nose. "Blow," he instructed.

Kaka did so, heartily, before pulling an embarrassed face, "That's disgusting, sorry!"

The captain shrugged as he tossed the soiled tissue into the waste basket, "Disgusting's relative when you have kids, after a toddler's projectile vomited all over you a little snot is nothing."

Kaka's tears ceased in horrified fascination, "Your kids didn't..."

"They have!" Paolo nodded, slightly shame faced. "Babies sometimes do that after you throw them in the air and catch them a few times."

The Brazilian stared at him wide eyed before giving an explosive snort and collapsing sideways on the bed in a fit of helpless laughter. Paolo chuckled too, glad to see the kid cheerful for the moment. It hadn't been a night to remember for anyone on the team, they'd had a meltdown against Deportivo and blown what should have been an insurmountable lead. They had pissed away the chance to defend their Champion's League crown. It hurt and Paolo had shed his own tears over the loss.

The laughter stopped as Kaka rolled on to his back, "I should have scored today."

Paolo kicked himself for not realising that Kaka was taking the loss personally. Like the rest of the team he was gutted at the failure to make the semis but that was hardly an excuse for him. This was Kaka's first season in European football and it had been a dream season until today.

TBC.