You Deserve Better
Summary: After witnessing Kenyatta abuse Mandy one too many times, Svetlana finally decided that enough was enough and she got rid of him. Mandy was angry at her at first for chasing her boyfriend away, but after a while, she came to realize that Svetlana only did it because she cared about her.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless.
This was obviously inspired by Svetlana checking out Mandy in the finale. Hell yeah I ship it.
Also, I have too many feelings about Mandy's abuse, so I had to deal with that somehow. I think it's very important that Mandy finally understands what respect feels like, so I thought that this was the perfect scenario.
I tried to keep it open to interpretation. Did Svetlana actually bash in Kenyatta's head? Probably. Also, is Mandy and Svetlana's relationship gonna be long-term or just a hookup? You decide.
"You fucking slut!" Kenyatta roared, grabbing Mandy's hair and throwing her into the wall. "Don't think I didn't see you looking at that mothafucka on the L today."
"He's just some guy from school," Mandy explained pleadingly. "I recognized him, that's all."
"Bullshit! You fuckin' him, ain't ya?" the man shouted back, towering over her.
"No, I swear!" Mandy yelled, desperately trying to calm him down.
A loud crack rang through the air. Kenyatta's fist impacted with her jaw.
Mandy sunk to the ground, clutching her chin and trying not to cry. Kenyatta sniffed, completely unfazed. He trudged over to his bedroom and slammed the door, satisfied that she had "learned her lesson."
After a minute of pulling herself together, the girl stood on wobbly feet. She looked up in time to see her sister-in-law staring at her from the doorway intensely.
"The fuck you looking at?" Mandy grumbled. She pushed past Svetlana and towards the bathroom to patch herself up, all alone.
Svetlana watched her leave, a silent fire in her eyes.
"Where's Kenyatta?" Mandy bellowed, running into the kitchen with a look of panic in her eyes. "All of his stuff is gone!"
No one in the room seemed concerned by the news.
Mickey continued counting the pills that Veronica had recommended for Ian. He sorted them into a small, plastic box labeled with each day of the week. His wife sat next to him at the table. She smoked a cigarette and kept an eye on the sleeping baby with a bored look on her face.
"Well?" Mandy shouted again. "Where is he?"
"How the fuck should I know?" her brother growled, snapping the pill box closed and finally looking up at her. "I didn't even want that asshole in this house in the first place."
He got up and trudged out of the room to see if Ian was ready to take his pills, leaving Mandy and Svetlana all alone in the kitchen together.
"Did you see where he went?" Mandy repeated insistently.
Svetlana just shrugged, a smirk forming on her face. "He not problem anymore," she replied simply.
Mandy seethed with anger. "What the fuck does that mean?" she hissed.
The Russian girl exhaled smoke and rubbed out her cigarette, not answering right away.
"Did you say something to my boyfriend?" Mandy demanded impatiently. "Where'd he go?"
"That boy lower than dirt," Svetlana pointed out. "You always nice to him; he treat you like dog shit."
"What are you even talking about?" Mandy asked, crossing her arms in front of her protectively. "Kenyatta cares about me."
"Man who care does not beat you," Svetlana insisted firmly. "You deserve better."
"You mean that little argument you saw the other day?" Mandy scoffed, avoiding eye contact. "That was nothing. Even my dad does that shit all the time. It's what boys do."
Svetlana paused. "Your father is different story," she said softly, remembering the day that her own father sold her into sexual slavery. "You cannot choose family. But this is America. You choose boyfriend."
Mandy growled angrily. She was getting sick of people telling her about her own business. She grabbed a kitchen knife and aimed it at the older woman's face. "Quit fucking lecturing me and answer my questions, bitch!"
Svetlana did not even bat an eye at the weapon in her face. "Fine," she sighed, waving her hand dismissively. "You have choice to stay with piece of shit man. I have choice to use hammer and make him go out of house. He long gone now."
Mandy slammed the knife back onto the kitchen counter and shrieked in frustration. "You fucking whore!" she yelled. She ran back to her room and slammed the door before the other girl could see her tears, throwing herself onto the bed and letting out a long, wavering breath to calm herself down.
It wasn't until she was completely alone that she was finally able to breathe.
Mandy never saw Kenyatta again, and truth be told, she didn't even miss him a little bit.
Months passed, and for once in Mandy's life, she was single for a long time. Dating had become the least of her priorities. When she wasn't busy with her waitressing jobs, she had more than enough to do at home. She kept her brother company a lot, helping him piece her best friend back together when he was at his lowest. She even forgave Svetlana and helped her take care of the baby sometimes.
However, even though she didn't miss her old boyfriend, being alone all the time was still a strange adjustment. Mandy had always been under the control of someone else. So many men on the South Side had taken advantage of her, including her father. Being free made her feel… lost. She couldn't sleep very well without someone beside her.
So during yet another restless night, Mandy got up and padded over to the kitchen. She fumbled for the light switch, yawning widely. It wasn't until she turned around and spotted a dark figure that she even realized that she wasn't alone.
She jumped up in shock.
"Holy shit!" she yelled, calming down when she realized that it was only Svetlana. "What the fuck are you doing awake?"
"I take care of screaming baby," Svetlana replied tiredly, barely reacting to Mandy's surprise. "He finally sleep, but I cannot."
"Oh," Mandy said awkwardly. "You want a beer or something then?"
Svetlana mumbled something in Russian that Mandy assumed was a "yes," so she grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one to the other woman, joining her at the table. Svetlana grabbed the beer and downed it quickly, looking exhausted.
Mandy watched Svetlana in admiration. She had to admit that, despite her flaws, the older woman was an excellent mother. Her own mother would rather have left her and her siblings screaming in their own shit all night than miss even an hour of sleep.
There was much more to Svetlana than being a "dead-eyed hand-whore" like Mandy had originally thought. She was a good person.
The Milkovich's curiosity got the better of her, and she finally broke the silence. "Where's Nika? I haven't seen her for a while. Finally realize you're not really a lesbian after all?"
"I am lesbian," Svetlana revealed bluntly. "Sex with Nika, I finally enjoy. She give me orgasm."
Mandy raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then why'd she leave?"
"She cheat on me so I threaten her with screwdriver," Svetlana said with a shrug.
Mandy just laughed. Svetlana really was an honorary Milkovich. "Are threats your goddamn answer for everything?"
Svetlana smiled back. "I protect myself and people I care for only."
Mandy considered that for a moment. Svetlana chased Kenyatta away for her. Did that mean that she cared about her?
Svetlana seemed to be able to read her mind. "You stop dating with asshole men?" she asked.
"Yeah, since you chased my boyfriend away," Mandy grumbled without any real anger in her voice.
Svetlana seemed content with that answer. "Good," she replied. "You do not need man to make you miserable. Learn to be happy just like this."
"He didn't make me miserable," Mandy lied.
Svetlana didn't believe her for one second. She leaned in closer and twirled a finger in Mandy's hair. "Man who disrespect you is idiot. If I had girl like you, I kill for her. Do whatever it take to make her happy."
Mandy should've pushed Svetlana's hand away. She should have been turned off by the obvious come on, but she wasn't. She looked away and just let Svetlana continue to play with her hair.
"You very strong," Svetlana continued. "Smart too. Too good for this shithole place."
"I'm not smart," Mandy corrected her, hiding her nerves with a chuckle.
Svetlana let go of Mandy's hair and leaned back to take another swig of her beer. "Yet I hear you got boy into college," she pointed out.
Mandy just shook her head. "He could've done that on his own. I just filled out the papers."
"He not fill out papers himself, because he stupid," Svetlana grumbled. "You not do good in school, so you think you not smart, but school is not everything. You still smarter than idiot boy."
Mandy frowned. No one had ever told her that she was smart before. "Lip was the best boyfriend I ever had," she said defensively. "He's smarter and nicer than any guy I ever met."
"He nice to you?" Svetlana asked incredulously. "He never yell at you? Treat you like shit?"
Mandy opened her mouth but didn't say anything. Lip had definitely yelled at her for no good reason plenty of times. He'd treated her like a tool, and even tried to get her pregnant without her consent.
Svetlana sneered knowingly and shook her head at Mandy's reaction. "You will find someone better," she said dismissively. Her eyes flickered down to Mandy's mouth, a seductive grin playing at her lips. "Someone so pretty have no problem."
Mandy was caught off guard by the foreign girl's lustful stare. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the lack of sleep or what, but she didn't mind it. In fact, she found herself wanting it. Svetlana looked her up and down, complimenting her with such confidence. No one had ever made her feel that important before, not even Lip.
Without warning, Mandy leaned in and pressed her lips against Svetlana's. The other girl smiled and kissed her back immediately. She brushed Mandy's hair out of the way, cupping her face.
Mandy nibbled on Svetlana's bottom lip, dragging it out and sucking it into her mouth. Svetlana slid her tongue against hers, letting out a low moan of approval. The kiss was deep and passionate, but it did not last very long.
Svetlana was the first one to pull away. She bit her lip and smirked in satisfaction.
She had expected her sister-in-law to look confused and full of regret, but actually, the kiss only seemed to fuel her fire. Mandy wasn't even sure if she liked girls in that way very much, but it didn't matter. Svetlana was definitely sexy, and she legitimately cared about her. She was everything that Mandy had never had before, and everything that she needed.
Mandy pressed against her urgently once again, shoving their mouths together. She led them both backwards towards the door to her bedroom. This time Svetlana didn't fight it. Their lips never parted from each other, biting and sucking in each other's air until their heads were buzzing from the lack of oxygen.
They tumbled into Mandy's bed together, desperately grinding against each other. For the moment, neither of them cared if it was just a hookup or if it would lead to something more. They fucked, each intent on making the other feel good, and Mandy finally knew what it felt like to be treated with respect.