Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.
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Two rival restaurants and chefs – what happens when love joins the menu?

Restaurant Wars

CHAPTER 2

Dimitri POV

I was finally going home!

After having spent the last 5 years travelling around Russia, sampling and learning all there was to know about Russian food, I was ready to return home and take my rightful place as sous-chef de cuisine of our family restaurant, Gordost Rossii. My time in Russia had been an amazing experience – the country, the food, the women – I had loved it all, and a part of me was sad to leave it behind. But I had a responsibility to carry on the family legacy (being the only son of Victor Belikov) and so having experienced everything wonderful Russia had to offer, it was high time for me to return.

As I sat in my first class seat, cradling my shot of Russian vodka, I let my mind wonder to my family. I had kept in regular contact with them during my travels, but it just wasn't the same. I missed my mama's warm hugs, my babushka's black bread and the weekly catch up 'vodka sessions' I had with my father. I had even missed my annoying sisters – they had always been a bane of my existence from childhood, but as we grew up, love and respect sometimes came through and I would occasionally forget how infuriating and nosy they were. Being the only son (and brother) I was also very protective of all three, even though two of them were older than me.

Karolina was the eldest and worked as the cuisinier at the restaurant. If she had been a boy, she would have become the sous-chef de cuisine (instead of me), but it seemed the tradition of passing that title to a 'son' trumped order in which you were born (wonder what my parents would have done if they only had girls…). I didn't like this 'sexist' way my family approached our business but Karolina didn't seem to mind too much, so I didn't fight the system.

Sonya was my other older sister, but she didn't work at the restaurant. After years of fighting with my parents (because she refused to work at the restaurant), she had finally established her own business – a fashion boutique in the nearby suburb of Glebe. Fittingly she called it Printsessa (Princess) because it was no secret that she was 'daddy's little princess' (if any of his other kids had argued and pulled away from the business like she had, I'm certain we would have been disowned).

And finally there was my younger sister, Viktoria. Being the baby of the family, she was spoiled and it wasn't until recently she had been pulled into the family business (she was taking far too long to finish her degree – in fact she had changed degrees and majors five times already!).

I loved my sisters dearly and felt a strong need to shield them from the male species. I had hated the way my older sisters had been used by men, which resulted in Karolina having Paul and Zoya and Sonya currently pregnant with a girl. Don't get me wrong – I loved my nephew & nieces and was happy to give them some form of a father-figure, but I wished my sisters had better judgement and would find men who would care for them and treat them with respect and love. Thankfully Vika was more like me and seemed to have some common sense, which thus far had helped prevent her from being used & abused by any 'douche-bags'.

I let out a big yawn, suddenly realising I was very tired. Understandable, considering I was up most of the night, enjoying my last 'offerings' of Russia – I think their names were Olga and Anya. Not that it mattered – it wasn't like I was going to see them again.

Contrary to what most people think about my 'ways with the opposite sex', I'm actually a gentlemen – my mama raised me right, thank you very much. It's just that I love women and wasn't big on commitment – I couldn't see myself being happy in a monogamous relationship (I think I would get bored very quickly). And the fact that I epitomised the whole 'tall, dark and handsome' persona (with the added bonus of a husky, Russian accent), well, let's just say, it wasn't hard to find women willing to satisfy my carnal needs.

Speaking of carnal needs, the cute blonde air hostess has been eye fucking me ever since I got on the plane. Normally I prefer brunettes, but I was never one to discriminate. Giving her a saucy wink, I got up and made my way to the restroom – it was about time I joined the mile high club!

Hopefully this will be the shortest chapter I write. I just wanted to introduce Rose & Dimitri – giving some background on their families & personalities – before I got into the main story.

Just to remind everyone, even though these are VA characters, the relationships and personalities will be unique to this series, so please don't bother with comments on how you don't think 'Rose/Dimitri would say/act like that' (as I really don't want to waste time justifying my decisions). As this is an AU piece, I figured I can go crazy with my creative licence and shape the characters as I please. I will keep physical appearance the same (for ease of visualisation) but everything else is fair game!

So yes, Rose will be the antisocial, conservative one and Dimitri the bad boy, party animal, but don't worry, this is still a Romitri piece.

As always, happy to read your thoughts and if you have any specific ideas, let me know.