The call Yakov received from his favorite protégé would forever haunt him.
"Jackson, you do know that it is the middle of the night!"
"Yes, but I needed to talk to you," Percy said, his voice had been shaking. "Is your offer still on the table?"
"Of course. When haven't I kept my promises?" Yakov spat. "Does your mother approve?" It was a long shot to ask. He doubted Sally Jackson would allow her precious boy to move to St. Petersburg.
"She is angry I'm not leaving today," he said softly, the quiver never left his words the entire conversation. "But I can't leave yet. If I survive the next few weeks, I will be there."
"Percy, if you survive? What the hell is going on?" Yakov growled. He was wide awake and fearful for his student.
"My father is sending me to battle. I'm expecting to die. If I do, I'm thanking you for all that you have done for me. If I live, I am begging asylum, Yakov."
"Boy, you tell me this instant-"
"I hope to see you in a few weeks. If mom calls you with bad news, tell Yura I love him."
"Jackson! Don't you dare hang up this phone!" But the call had been disconnected. "Damn it, why can't I have a normal student?"
Yakov had gotten no sleep that night. Victor had taken off a week ago, chasing after his latest heartthrob. Geogi's girlfriend had dumped him and he was acting psychotic, and Yuri was brooding. Because of the unstable protégés, he couldn't go and drag Percy's ass here himself. Not with the way they were currently acting. Yakov called Sally later that day, and getting two words out of her was difficult. She was inconsolable.
In his frenzy trying to figure out Percy's current state of health, Yuri slipped off to Japan. Which, then there was the task of explaining to his grandfather where his precious grandchild was.
Yakov prayed he would see Jackson again. If he did, he could kill him for making Yakov think he was dying. It would not be fun dealing with the fallout if Percy died. Yuri was already a landmine waiting to be slightly nudged on the best of days. Percy dies, Yuri would become a nuclear warhead, and quite possibly catatonic. Yakov wasn't sure when he allowed the pair to become so codependent on each other. He go no rest for a week. His student's safety was more important than scores for skating. It was not an easy task of keeping them safe when they were all spread out across the world in different states of chaos.
At the end of the week, he thought the worst of everything. When the caller ID said Sally Jackson, his heart dropped. He hoped it was not a phone call saying that his student had been killed.
"Hello?" he asked cautiously. He fully expected to hear Ms. Jackson's voice.
"Hey, Yakov. I'll be in St. Petersburg before the day is out. I wanted to let you know before I showed up on your doorstep."
The relief of hearing Percy's voice washed over him.
"Jackson," he grunted. "Why the hell are you calling from your mother's phone? You scared the life out of me."
"Mine got crushed by a hellhound." Yakov could practically hear the shrug. "I'm getting a new one once I am in Russia."
"Good. I'll be there when you land. Be prepared for a world of hurt. Whatever you have been up to, I know it hasn't been skating. Whatever shape you are in is not acceptable.
"I will have you know that I am in great shape!" Percy exclaimed indignantly.
"Doing what? Sword fighting?" a snarky comment came from a distance on the other line.
"Shut up, Pinecone Face!" Percy yelled. "Thanks, Yakov. I'll see you soon." And he ended the call.
"Sword fighting? I will never understand that boy."
"Has anyone seen Percy recently?" Connor asked about a day after the final battle. There was murmur of no's, with the exception of Thalia, who gave a short laugh.
"Yes, I dropped him off at JFK last night," she said surprised.
Annabeth had noticed that he was not there, but she had assumed he got back when Thalia had gotten back from dinner with their mother the night before. She had believed that Percy returned with her.
"JFK? You mean the airport?" she asked.
"Where else is there a location called JFK?"
"Why did you bring him to the airport?" Grover asked. He was clearly fearful for his friend. "He shouldn't fly."
"Stop worrying. Sally marched right up up to Dad yesterday and practically beat him into submission, had Hades remove the Achilles' curse from him and then we dropped him at the airport."
"So, Sally and Percy are going on vacation?" Connor concluded. "I thought she adopted you?"
"Sally is at home with Paul, and I am heading back there soon." Thalia made this the feeble attempt to divert attention from her brother.
"Then Thalia please elaborate on why Percy, who is afraid of flying, was at the airport," Annabeth demanded.
"Now I'm curious as well," Travis said as he walked up from the Big House with Katie.
"He's moving to Eastern Europe-" The outrage that followed was expected. They were all screaming.
"He's abandoning us?" Was the comment that stood out the boldest to Thalia.
"He is not abandoning us. He is pursuing an opportunity presented to him. Percy has a life outside of us. Lilia and Yakov are old camp coaches that offered Percy as spot as a permanent student. Sally tried to send him in June, but he refused to leave us to fend for ourselves. Not one of you have the right to say he abandoned us."
Most of the questions and abrasive objections were silenced. Halia got up, and went to her cabin. She planned on getting well deserved rest. Maybe she should have stayed at home with Paul and Sally.
"I'm not done with you yet, Thalia," Annabeth said. She'd followed her friend into Zeus's cabin, and locked the door.
"What are you doing, Annabeth?"
"Where is Percy really? If he wanted time with his mom, all you had to do was say so."
Thalia internally groaned. She grabbed Annabeth's face and stared her in the eyes. It was the only way, hopefully for Annabeth to get it through her thick skull. It was sometimes difficult to believe Annabeth was the child of Athena when she was being bullheaded.
"Annabeth, I really need you to hear me. Percy moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. He accepted a position in a specialized educational program that had been offered to him when he was ten years old."
"He moved?" The hurt was clear.
"Percy never wanted to be apart of anything that this lifestyle offered."
"So he left? Why? What about me?"
"In the distant future of his life, camp and sadly you were never really in it outside of an old friend or a distant memory. He said he would call you and me when he landed. It's not what you wanted to hear, I know. I'm sorry."
"What did I do wrong?" Annabeth sobbed into Thalia's shoulder.
"Nothing, Annabeth. Percy is more than what he shows at camp. He's had one type of future planned out for him since he was about eight or nine, and he could become one of the best if he works at it. And he has, and this will only take him further. It is hard for him to give everything up, but he hasn't done any of it with the intention of hurting you or anyone else."
"But I love him, I'm in love with him," Annabeth whispered. "Didn't he know that?"
"He loves you, always has, but he always saw you as his best friend or a sister. It never crossed his mind to see you in that way."
Annabeth cried herself to sleep that night in her best friends arms. She woke up the next morning with an even worse understanding of the enigma that was Percy Jackson.
"Look who finally decided to show up," Yakov growled. Yuri was in no mood to deal with his coach. He did what Victor wanted him to, but his rinkmate refused to return to Russia with him. So he was stuck here, and the stupid old man was trying to flirt with Katsudon. "You are in for a lot of work. If I'm not wrong, I believe that Percy is about ready to kill you."
Yuri sent a look at Yakov from the bench where he was lacing up his skates. "That bastard has been ignoring me for two weeks. I'm pissed at him. He has got no reason to be mad at me."
"It isn't like I didn't try to call you, Yura. My phone broke, and Mom wouldn't lend me hers so replace it. When I tried to call you, you sent ym call to voicemail."
Yuri froze. It was not a voice that he had expected to hear. He turned slowly to see Percy leaning on the wall of the rink, grinning maniacally at him.
"I would have liked to tell you sooner I had taken Yakov up on his offer, but it seemed like you were too distracted to listen."
Yuri fainted, surprising them all. Anger and shock was not a great combo for him, clearly. Percy and Yakov watched him hit the ground. Percy couldn't move fast enough because he was wearing his skates, and Yakov couldn't be bothered at the moment. Yuri had taken off without telling him for Japan, and was still playing the victim card. Some karma wouldn't be a bad thing for him.
"I really did not expect that," Percy defended.
"Like hell, you didn't, Jackson," Yakov grumbled. Percy smiled, and tried to revive the unconscious Yuri. It may be a private rink, but that did not mean it was clean.
"Up we get, Yura. I doubt Yakov will let you get out of training today."
"I am not asking you to come back. Wait, I am ordering you not to come back," Thalia commanded over the phone.
"Then why are you telling me this?" Percy sighed.
"Would you have been okay if I had left you in the dark?"
"No," he conceded.
"Stay and train, Percy. I promise I will keep you informed. I am nearly convinced she just ran off, but I don't know for sure. If you let this affect you life at all, skating and otherwise, I will come and end you myself."
"But, Thals-"
"No buts, Jackson. You have worked too hard in these last few months for it to be okay for you to up and decide to leave it all behind. Especially for something as stupid as camp." Thalia took a moment. "I know this worries you, and it should. Please, don't let this hinder anything you do. I would never forgive myself if I was the reason that you did not achieve your life long goals."
"Okay. Please keep in touch. I would not forgive myself if you died and I was here unable to do anything about it."
Percy told Yuri that night, and his nightmares cause Yuri to stay the night with him. Early in the season, Yuri and Mila realized Percy's nightmare were violent, and before Yuri had returned, Mila had been the one restraining him in his sleep. Percy flailed and clawed at everything, if they didn't keep him restrained, he would end up severely hurting himself. Yuri assured Percy, making him remember that it wasn't his fault Annabeth disappeared. It was not longer his responsibility to make sure the camp was safe.
He took Yuri's words to heart. Percy took the junior league by storm, winning golds at many competitions. Yakov refused to let him stay in the juniors for another season. The press began to call Percy Jackson the Siren, as his performances and his skates were so enthralling, it was as if he were a siren calling to his audience. It seemed to fit him, after all, he was the child of Poseidon.
Thalia called him the day Annabeth was found, then the day after the giants were defeated, and then she demanded for Percy to come pick her up from the airport the day she landed in St. Petersburg. Somehow, Thalia managed to get into college in the city, and claimed she was done with this Olympian bullshit. Lord Zeus was paying her tuition as an apology for being such a terrible father, allowing her to be turned into a pinetree, and making her fight in two wars before she was eighteen.
It turned out Thalia really didn't want to make friends, and she hung around the rink and did her homework after classes. This was, of course, at the cost of Yakov's displeasure. Georgi fell in love with her, and by the time Percy finally asked Yuri out, Thalia has been thoroughly wooed by the boy.
Percy and his other rinkmates teased Thalia mercilessly. Asking her how many children they would have, and not to forget to invite Jason and Sally to the wedding if she wanted to live to a see a future with her soon to be husband. Thalia would glare and say something along the lines of "yeah right," and "fat chance".
Yuri and Percy finally started dating after Yuri said one of their typical dinners after practice was a date rather than dinner. It was a finally moment for everyone. No one made a move to go against it, and the two were fairly happy. No monsters, wars, or bad dreams could destroy the happiness they had found.
And when Thalia teased him about his relationship, he would smile and laugh, because it was one of the best things to have ever happened to him.
Their life finally didn't revolve around saving and caring for others. They could explore what they wanted to, and do whatever the dreamed of doing in their lives. Thalia and Percy were truly happy for the first time in years. Nothing could take it away from them.