Really wish we could’ve seen how that one played out
IMAGINE IT HAPPENS ON ACCIDENT
Loki expressed some nonchalant interest in the hammer and Fury watched him walk around it, but he didn't touch it (or actually he did, but he cloaked himself and Fury couldn't see it). Loki said it was basically worthless and left.
Now, Fury isn't an idiot. If the blond, gorgeous man was Thor God of Thunder, then this had to be Thor's hammer. But Loki didn't take it, so either he couldn't, or it had no worth/powers if it wasn't paired with Thor.
Later, Steve and Carol came to the site. Immediately, the energy around the hammer started spiking. Steve felt a strange pull somewhere in the core of his body, as if he had to go somewhere. He felt drawn to it. The closer he got to the hammer, the more it acted up. ("It's like it's excited," Coulson stammered, unsure what he was seeing on the screen).
At first some agents wanted to stop Steve, but Fury told them to let him through. This couldn't be a coincidence. When Steve touched the hammer, the computers could barely keep up with its energy signal, and the rock began to crumble. Lightning flashed overhead, thunder rolled down the Earth, and a mere second later Steve was standing there with the hammer in his hand.
Coulson basically faints, Carol nods approvingly and Fury is just glad they have a real chance at kicking Loki off the planet.