In September 2002, Zafkiel decided to move to Sydney, Australia in order to study. It was not a spur of the moment decision, and not one taken lightly; although he had moved from one country to another before, he had never done it alone. But he felt it was the right thing to do, and that it was the right time to do it.
At first he was a bit lonely, but he soon made friends with the girl next door, Malakhim, and became acquainted with her obsession with taking photos -- which included taking photos of him.

In November 2002, Zafkiel reassessed his situation (and his finances!) and realised he would have to share his apartment. He put out a want ad for a flatmate, which was soon answered by Mikael. Mikael had recently moved to Sydney himself and was looking for somewhere cheap to live while he sorted himself out, and Zafkiel's place was perfect.
The first thing Mikael did upon arrival was assert his dominance over Zafkiel; it's in his nature to dominate, just as its in Zafkiel's to be submissive and give in. In this sense, they got along fine, for the most part, aside from a few disagreements. And so, the two settled in to getting used to sharing an apartment with each other, even as both was still getting used to living in such a new place, so far away from their homes.

However it soon became clear that there was more than just 'acquiantanceship' or even 'friendship' that connected Zafkiel and Mikael... despite being so inherently different, the two found themselves drawn to each other in ways they had not expected. What might have originally been teasing on Mikael's part (for he is wont to tease, and sometimes cruelly) somehow developed into a full-blown relationship between the two.
Though they still fought at times, their affection developed and deepened intensely over the following months, and Mikael's original plans of only staying till he sorted himself out were discarded. Neither could deny that there was nothing they wanted more than to stay together for as long as possible.

In March 2003, Zafkiel moved permanently into Mikael's room, abandoning his own room. Not long after, he suggested to Mikael that they rent out his old room. Mikael couldn't deny that they needed the extra money, so they put out a want ad for a flatmate, and in early April, Raziel answered it and moved in with them.
It was clear to both of them that the over-exhuberant, mischievous Raziel was going to be more than a handful right from the start. Mikael was inclined to kick him right back out again and get someone else, but Zafkiel convinced him to give Raziel a chance. And so an uneasy truce fell between the three.
But Raziel, brat though he might have been, was also a charmer, and he soon won over Zafkiel completely. The two became friends, and Mikael became resigned to Raziel's constant presence.

In June 2003, Raziel heard about a friend of a friend of a friend who was coming to Australia and needed a place to crash for awhile, and after seeing pictures, agreed to put this 'friend' up. And then told Zafkiel and Mikael about it afterwards. Not surprisingly, neither was too impressed, but Zafkiel, always wanting to please everyone, convinced Mikael to at least give the newcomer a chance.
Gavrael's arrival was not without mishaps, but with Raziel's help he arrived safely home, where he promptly challenged Mikael's dominance without even stopping to take a breath.
Once again, Mikael wanted to kick him straight out, and once again, it was Zafkiel who convinced him otherwise. But Zafkiel and Raziel's friendship had grown strong, and Raziel was smitten with Gavrael from the moment he saw him; so Zafkiel wore down Mikael's stubbornness for the sake of Raziel's one-sided love.

Despite sharing a room, Raziel and Gavrael got off to a rocky start. Raziel adored Gavrael without question from the get-go, but Gavrael was distant and aloof, and pushed the boy away more often than not. He spoke little of himself, where he'd come from, or why he was in Sydney, and was apt to vanish for long periods of time without warning or without explanation.
Nonetheless, Raziel was persistent, and in late July when Gavrael suffered an unfortunate accident and injured his hand rather badly, Raziel did not waste the opportunity, and appointed himself doctor, nurse, and protector, all at once. And whether in shock or merely worn down by Raziel's constant attentions, Gavrael seemed willing to submit to Raziel's smothering.

It was a long, agonising month for Gavrael before his hand was fully healed enough for him to even consider attempting to use it normally again. But it was in that month that Raziel truly shone, proving how selfless he could be, given the opportunity and enough dedication on his part. And dedicated to Gavrael he was, making sure the boy was completely taken care of in every way neccessary.
By the end of the healing process, Gavrael's feelings towards Raziel had taken quite an about-turn, and it seemed like he was finally ready to let down his walls somewhat and let the persistent, charming brat into his life.

The rest of the year seemed to pass them quietly by. Gavrael and Raziel became closer, and in turn, Gavrael seemed to become more relaxed and less standoffish. Mikael and Gavrael butted heads several times, but eventually Mikael found a roundabout way to assert his dominance, using a combination of Zafkiel and sexual advances to prove that he was still in control. Gavrael backed off somewhat; he still did not like Mikael's determination to dominate everything, but perhaps due to his relationship with Raziel, he seemed more comfortable with just trying to shrug it off.
New Years rolled around as usual, and everyone had an enjoyable time celebrating, even if their evening started off a little shakily, and came to a rather confusing end the next morning! But as most of the evening's happenings were alcohol induced, everyone seemed happy enough not to hold any grudges.