"There's a café two blocks down, we're regulars there," Steve said. "We can talk there."

"Of course." Strange knew the cafe Steve was talking about. It wouldn't take him long to get there.

"We'll see you there, then." Steve hung up and went to go get Bucky. At least they should get some answers out of this meeting.

Once they hung up, Strange went to change into something a little less conspicuous than a flare-collared robe. He got the feeling Captain Rodgers and Sergent Barnes would rather not have that kind of attention on them during this meeting.

Indeed, Steve and Bucky were both in normal civilian clothes, and they'd picked a table in a back corner. It was fairly quiet, but the ambiance music would help cover their conversation, and the owners knew to keep their noses out of Avenger business.

Strange found them at the table near the back.

"Captain Rodgers, Sergent Barnes," he greeted as he approached. "You said you had a matter that might benefit from my attention?"

Steve nodded. "We've both been feeling things that are a little... off," he said. "Yesterday I felt itchy, like I was peeling. Today too. But there's nothing there, and I haven't had a sunburn in a long time." He glanced at Bucky with a raised eyebrow to see if he cared to share as well or if he would leave it up to Steve.

Bucky didn't say anything, just keeping an eye on Strange. He'd pipe up if he needed to.

"I see," Strange said. "Did you do anything recently to deviate from your normal habits? Go anywhere new, come into contact with anyone new?"

Steve shrugged. "Natasha dragged me out with her yesterday, but that's nothing new," he said. "It's just these odd feelings at random times, for the past week or so."

"Odd feelings aside from the mysterious itching?" Strange asked.

"Emotions that aren't quite my own, things like that." Steve was quiet for a moment. "Once or twice, places in my dreams that I've never seen before."

"I see." Strange considered all of that for a moment. "Captain, have you ever encountered the concept of the soulmate?"

Steve's eyebrows shot up at that. "No, can't say I have, much," he said. "There was some chatter back in the Army, but nothing I paid attention to."

"Perhaps I might be able to explain, then," Strange said. "It is commonly believed that, while a person is capable of falling in love with more than one partner in their lives, they have only one partner who is truly the other half of their soul. The moment both people are on this plane at the same time, a bond is formed between them in order to guide them together. The bond can be anything from a minor empathic link to fully-fledged telepathy, depending on the strength of the bond and the individuals in question. It is different for every pair."

It didn't take more than a few seconds for Steve to get what he was implying.

"So, basically, you're saying that these... sensations are coming from someone who is supposed to be my soulmate?" He looked and sounded a little incredulous.

"If one believes such things," Strange said, nodding. "Although, Captain, there is a sort of... twist, in your energies, which generally signals a bond being formed."

"For both of us?" Steve asked, just to be sure. Because this was going to take some getting used to. "And it presumably goes both ways?"

"I have not yet heard of a one-way bond," Strange said. "I would assume the person on the other end is experiencing similar effects."

Steve nodded slowly. "Have you encountered other bonds like this before?"

"Occasionally," Strange said. "I've never formed one myself, but I also have reason to suspect that my contact with other dimensions prohibits such things. When did you say you began to feel such things, Captain?"

"I just noticed in the past week or two," Steve said. "Not much longer than that. Bucky remembers flashes from much longer back."

"Indeed?" Strange turned his attention to Bucky, who looked slightly uncomfortable.

"For years," Bucky finally said. "Some dreams, some feelings, and the occasional bizarre urge to take apart appliances."

Strange nodded. "Interesting." He would have guessed that any bond would have started when Steve was awoken, but apparently not. "At this point, all I can advise is to pay attention to these feelings. They will likely become stronger when you are near the person on the other end of the bond."

"Good to know," Bucky murmured. Because he'd already put together that he probably had this bond thing, too. It made a terrifying amount of sense.

As far as Steve was concerned, that was only somewhat helpful, because there were millions of people this soulmate could be.

"Where do we even start?" he asked, frowning a bit. "We don't even know that these people are in the same state."