what I wrote last night

 He found Rogers pounding his fists into a punching bag, practising nothing but how to hit harder.  Loki walked into the room, motioning for Thori to stay put by the wall before approaching any closer.

"You can hit and use a shield, but can you actually fight?" Loki asked, knowing that any man called Steve Rogers would not be able to resist the challenge.

Sure enough, Rogers stopped and turned to Loki.  The look he threw Loki's way was hard and critical, completely without trust.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked.

Loki pulled Lævateinn from its hiding place and tossed it to Rogers, watching him easily catch it out of the air.  Rogers looked down at it, studying the weapon for a long moment, before returning his attention to Loki.

"So what's the deal with this?" he asked.

"That one?" asked Loki, pulling Gram for himself.  "Nothing at all."

He gave the sword a lazy spin through the air, cutting a wide circle at his side.  A moment later, Rogers did the same.  He nodded, and then stepped toward the centre of the room, away from the punching bag.

"I guess matching sets aren't required on Asgard," Rogers said.

Loki shrugged, following him to the centre of the room with long strides.  "One was earned, one was stolen."

"Which is which?" asked Rogers.

Loki didn't answer.  He swung wide, giving Rogers plenty of time to block.  He knew Steve Rogers would also be an irritatingly quick study, so he moved just slowly enough, telegraphed his moves just right to teach him what he needed to do.  He fought right-handed, giving Rogers one more slight edge in figuring things out.

And Rogers was a quick study.  He spent only a few short moments on the defense, blocking and moving away before striking out on his own in the same wide, arcing moves Loki was using.  They moved slowly, barely enough for any kind of work out at all as Rogers learned how to use the weight of the blade to his advantage.

"If we're friends where you're from, prove it," Rogers said suddenly.

The question was so blunt, so direct, it nearly distracted Loki from another loose swing.  And Loki had expected to need to teach him to fight dirty.

"That's a rather loaded request," he said, tightening up his own attack.  He started to move faster as he advanced low.  "Anything I say is either very easily researched, or didn't happen."  Rogers very nearly missed a block, narrowing avoiding catching Gram's edge with his side.  "Your entire life is public record, and I don't exist in it."

Already, Rogers began tightening his own stance, adjusting to Loki's changes with fluid ease.  It was almost starting to get fun.

"Then we must not be very good friends," Rogers said.

"You wound me with words, good sir," Loki said, pretending to be positively offended.

On his own, Rogers began to move faster, allowing the silver steel to properly sing with each strike, while Gram seemed to only get heavier and louder as the blades met.

"Hang on.  We crossed paths twice before I knew your name," Loki remembered.  He quickly dodged a swift jab, blocking Lævateinn's blade with Gram's as he stepped out of the way.  "I watched you get your ass kicked at a news reel, and then managed to piss you off at a party."  He could see Rogers hesitate, knowing something had rung a bell.  This time, Loki had to pull his swing to avoid striking him with the blade.  "Closing night of Henry V, the night Roosevelt declared war."

For a brief moment, Rogers seemed to forget what they were doing.  He seemed almost lost, though he regained himself just as quickly.  Now, he fought in earnest.

"That was in forty one," he said.

Loki suddenly found it awkward to keep up, having committed to his right hand while Rogers picked up entirely too quickly to be comfortable.  He was definitely Steve Rogers.

"Yes, and?" asked Loki.  "Did Agent Carter also try to murder you for sticking your tongue down someone else's throat?"

Rogers stumbled again, and then swung fast enough that Loki almost failed to block.  Catching his own blade to the neck was not exactly what he had planned for the evening.

"We served together?" asked Rogers.

"And it's a shame it didn't happen for you, because you'd know I'm not right handed," Loki said.

He quickly switched hands and swung the blade in a wide arc at his side once more.  This was more comfortable.  It would also be more difficult for Rogers, while Loki was well used to fighting an opponent with his sword on the wrong side.  Though he still held back and moved more slowly, he moved more naturally across the floor.  For the first few strikes, Rogers seemed to struggle with the change in direction, but again caught on quickly.  The silver steel of Lævateinn's blade sung loudly, echoing off the walls from all directions even as it sliced through the air.  With each strike, Gram seemed to almost glow.  Rogers kept pace with Loki until a bad side step.  Loki took advantage of his awkward footing and tripped him, sending him to his back.  With Rogers spread out on the floor, Loki held Gram to his neck, just long enough for him to know that he lost.  Then, he stepped back and offered Rogers a hand up.

"Just might make an Asgardian of you yet," Loki said.

Rogers looked down at Lævateinn again, taking a long moment to study it before he handed it back.  "So what's the deal with that one?" he asked, pointing it to Gram.

Loki handed it over, allowing him to inspect it as well.  "It was forged from dragon's blood," Loki said.  "It's distilled truth, shaped as a weapon.  The weilder can know anything he wants if he uses it well."

Rogers looked up at him and frowned.  Loki could see the temptation building over him.  It was another test.  But now Rogers was on to him.

"How'd you get it?" he asked, handing it back.

Loki stored both swords away again.  "It used to belong to the man who ran off with my wife."

Rogers wore that look he always did when he'd stumbled into a topic he did not know how to navigate.  That, it seemed, was also the same. "So how'd you earn the other one?" he asked instead.

Loki almost laughed.  "Pissing around in Europe for a few years in the forties, making sure you idiots didn't blow up your planet with the Tesseract."

Rogers did laugh.  "I'm almost starting to believe you," he said.