This was literally 1000 words long without me paying any attention to the word count. I laughed out loud when I found out.

Anyway, I have no idea how I thought of this one, but I'm very sure the girls of the Glee Club aren't the only ones who noticed Beiste's bruises.

Enjoy.

Kurt wasn't really sure how he'd ended up on the floor in the locker room with Coach Beiste crying into his shoulder while he was muttering what he hoped were comforting things to her.

It may have had to do with the fact that he'd started wondering why Coach Beiste seemed to have permanent black eyes lately. So he'd asked her, but what he didn't expect was the fact that after all the people who had been sniggering, making fun of her behind her back and people asking her constantly what happened, him asking her if she was alright when he visited her in the locker room would be her breaking point.

Only five minutes ago, Kurt had seen her walking through the deserted hallway with yet another black eye and a bruise on her wrist. He was worried about her.

Even though he barely knew her, and even though most of the time Finn and Puck complained about her way of coaching, they had said very good things about her. That she wasn't nearly as bad as she seemed sometimes.

So he went after her, into the locker room, even if he shuddered for a moment as he remembered a very bad memory with a guy who was now a friend of his. Strange how some things could go, actually.

The first thing he saw was Beiste checking her eye and wrist in the mirror. He took a deep breath and walked up towards her, greeting her. She jumped as she heard his voice and with a look that could only be called 'Deer in the headlights', she turned around slowly and let out a breath she'd been holding.

'Kurt, you shouldn't scare me like that.'

'I just greeted you.'

'Well, I didn't expect you or hear you.'

Kurt merely raised his eyebrow at her for a few moments before dropping his bag and sitting down elegantly on the wooden bench that was in the middle of the locker room.

'What're you doing here, Kurt? Shouldn't you have gone home about half an hour ago?'

'No. Not until you tell me where you got that black eye. I'm a curious boy, you know?'

He smiled at her, hoping it'd make her feel at ease enough to tell him the truth, whether it was just an accident or not.

'Why would you want to know anyway?'

'Like I said; I'm a curious boy and easily worried.'

'It's nothing.'

'So you kind of just woke up with a black eye in the morning for the past couple of weeks without any reason why?'

'Hummel, you're getting on my nerves.'

'Your bruises are getting on my nerves, so just explain it to me so I can go home.'

'You can go home now, too, you know.'

'No, there's no fun in that. So, what happened?'

Beiste let out a very frustrated sigh and seemed to consider telling him. All the while, Kurt stared at her and just hoped for the best.

Eventually she turned around and faced the mirror again, pulling a lipstick out of her pocket.

'I just managed to run into a pole. That's what happened.'

'Of course.' Kurt said, sounding as if he really believed it, which made her shoulders a lot less tense.

'And that pole managed to sneak it's way around your wrist as well, right? Bruising you in the process.'

She whipped around and looked incredibly angry at him.

'It is absolutely none of your business.'

But her voice cracked halfway through and there were tears pooling in her eyes, ready to escape, but not doing so just yet.

Kurt made sure his voice was as soft and caring as possible.

'So please tell me what really happened? Please?'

What he didn't expect was Beiste falling on her knees and burying her face in her hands, letting out violent sobs and not seeming able to stop. He immediately jumped up and sat down next to her, pulling her in his arms.

She grabbed the back of his shirt like it was the only thing that would keep her from drowning in all of her problems, feelings and most of all; her fears.

Kurt let out a soft sigh after she'd calmed down enough to be able to talk. She didn't look at him though, not even after she'd pulled away.

'It's Cooter.'

'I'm sorry, but who's Cooter?'

'My hu-husband.'

'… Your husband hits you?'

She merely nodded and started crying again, making Kurt pull her to his chest once again.

'But you don't seem very happy with him.'

'I'm no-ot.'

'Then why stay with him?'

'…'

'Coach Beiste?'

'He's… the only one who'll e-ever l-l-love me-e.'

At this, Kurt stopped rubbing comforting circles on her back, just thinking about what she'd just told him.

'Coach Beiste, don't you think it's better to be alone and happy with your friends than being with a guy who hits you? I'm very sorry, but I think that if a person hits his wife, he doesn't really love her as much as he says he does.'

'You don't know that.'

'Does he have a reason to hit you?'

'He sometimes drinks a little too much; I can't really blame him if he's like that.'

'You should. I'm pretty sure he knows he's like that when he drank too much, but I don't think he really cares if he keeps drinking like that.'

'I can't leave him, Kurt.' She had spoken in a small voice.

'If he's dangerous for you and you end up like this because of him, I really think you should.'

'But no one will ever love me. He's the only one who really does.'

'I think I can tell you one person who should love you, apart from all your friends and the football team of course, who already love you.'

'Who?'

'You.'

She just stared at him as he smiled, but then smiled back.

'Don't tell anyone that this ever happened, alright.'

He laughed.

'I won't.'

So... What do you think? I'm making a kind of sequel to this little drabble, but then with Cooter. I guess.