Here's the next part. I jumped around a bit with this one cause I wanted to start moving the story forward. There is some implied content at the end though nothing is made specific, it could still be triggering to some people so go forth with caution.

Rory spends the next few days avoiding the people who were intent on being close to her. She spends most of the time sleeping, or at least feigning sleep. Her soulmates still took their turns spending time with her, entertaining themselves in their own ways while she focused more on avoiding any conversation with them. Clint had said they didn't blame her for what happened, but she feels like they can't all agree with what he said. She had killed a man, and she liked how powerful it made her feel. Of course, they didn't know about the latter part, and she would make sure they never did.

Rory is woken rather rudely the next morning when both Tony and Bruce barge in. Well, Tony did most of the barging.

"Wake up sunshine, we're breaking you out of here," Tony says, tossing something onto her bed.

She sits up, seeing a pile of clothes before she looks up at Tony. "Huh?"

Bruce starts disconnecting the wires from her. "What he means is, you're progressing very quickly in the healing process and we think it would be good for you to get up and start moving around a little bit more."

"Plus a change of scenery would probably be nice too." Tony shrugs. "So come on. Get changed and I'll take you on an official tour."

Bruce finishes disconnecting Rory from the equipment. "If it's too much or you feel woozy, just let JARVIS know and I'll come and save you."

Rory feels a smile pull at her lips for the first time in a long time. "Thanks."

Rory takes the clothes to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She had gotten used to doing it after her soulmates had started sticking by her side like shadows. It was the only privacy she was allotted and she found herself missing the solitude now that there were people around her constantly. They hovered more than HYDRA had.

Rory changes into the clothes, making the mistake of looking at her reflection. She had avoided it since her arrival, but she can't help but stare at the person in the mirror. Dull green eyes stare back at her, ringed by deep circles despite the time she had spent sleeping lately. She was pale, paler than she remembered being as a kid. Before HYDRA. Her hair had gotten longer since the first escape from HYDRA. When they had taken her a second time, they hadn't worried about the way she looked. She was simply there to bait Bucky back. HYDRA had always kept her hair short since it was easier to manage that way. But now it was down below her shoulders. Her skin is marred with scars from HYDRA and their many tests and disciplines. The t-shirt she had been given is too big, probably one of Tony's judging by the size and the logo on the front. The sweatpants must have been Nat's since they fit her better, but were still slightly too big.

Rory leaves the bathroom, Tony lounging against the side of her bed. She tugs at the t-shirt nervously as he takes her in before standing, offering her a hand.

"Come on. Let's get this tour started."

The tower is bigger than Rory had thought, granted she had only seen a small part of it. Tony shows her everything, doing all the talking as he takes her past the labs, showing her where everyone stays in their own apartments, the kitchens, the common areas. It is rather overwhelming to her to see something so...normal after so long with HYDRA and its bare minimum warehouses.

The real shock comes when Tony shows her, her own apartment. Rory has to push aside the urge to be sick as Tony takes her through the small apartment. It was sparsely decorated, filled with just the essentials and painted in neutral colors. The bedroom was the same, but it contained a bed bigger than Rory had seen in a long time.

"It's all yours to do with it what you want. At least, decorating wise. I know Nat will want to do some shopping soon as well, just to get you some clothes of your own."

Rory touches the comforter on the bed, the fabric softer than anything she'd touched in a long time. "Purple. That was my favorite color."

Tony shifts behind her. "We can work with purple."

Rory turns back to face him, trying not to seem small in the large space. "It's...it's a lot."

Tony nods. "I get it. You don't have to stay here right now if you don't want to. You can stay wherever you feel the most comfortable. No one will think you're weird if you sleep in a cupboard in the kitchen. Clint does it all the time. Scared me half to death looking for a coffee cup one time."

Rory nods, shifting her feet on the plush carpet, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Now that we're done here, there were some things we wanted to talk to you about now that you're recovering."

Rory follows Tony out to her living room, sitting on the couch with him. It wasn't lumpy or smelly like the last couch she sat on. It was like sitting on a cloud that wanted to swallow her whole. It scared her a little.

Tony pulls out a tablet, pressing some things on the screen as he speaks to her. "We did some digging after you showed up, trying to figure out as much as we could about you, not just from HYDRA but from before as well." Rory pulls her knees up to her chest, nodding. "Now, seeing as you'll be 17 next week, we have a couple of options. A, we could go through the process of getting you legally emancipated or B, one of us could go through the process of adopting you. Of course, you'll probably be 18 before either one of those gets processed so it's just a matter of which one you'd be most comfortable with."

Rory stares at him for a moment. "What about my parents?"

Tony's shoulders tense, and now he's the one nervously chewing on his lip. The action has Rory's stomach twisting painfully. "You don't...they...they're gone, Rory."

Rory had been expecting him to say that. Since the moment she asked the question she knew that's what he was going to say. Despite that, she still feels the tears welling up despite her efforts not to cry. "How?"

"They were found dead after your teacher reported you absent from her class for a few days. An officer went to check on the house and they concluded it was a murder/kidnapping. HYDRA probably-"

"They never told me." Rory keeps her eyes on the wall in front of her. "They didn't...they let me think…" Her shoulders shake as she tries to hold down a sob, biting her lip until she tastes blood, trying to keep it all down. Tony reaches out towards her but she shies away from his touch. "I...I need to be alone right now."

He nods, setting the tablet on the table. "I understand. Just, let JARVIS know if you need anything." He gets up, closing the door behind him.

Rory hasn't moved when Steve brings her dinner. Her uneaten lunch is sitting on the table still, along with the tablet. Steve feels his heart clench as he looks at her. He had thought she had looked broken when he first met her, but now she just looked...empty. Tony had told them all when he'd come down to the gym fighting tears himself. They all understood in their own ways, but all of them had felt the collective pain of knowing someone so young had lost everything they had.

"I brought you dinner," Steve says, putting the plate of spaghetti on the table. "Bucky's Ma taught me how to make it." At the mention of Bucky, her eyes finally move, looking from the plate up to his face. "I also brought you something I wanted you to have." He hands her the picture frame. "It was taken during the war. After I came out of the ice three years ago, Bucky's sister was still alive. She had all of our stuff from before the war and during it. Some of it went to the museum but some of it I kept for myself."

"Steve…" Her voice cracks as she says his name, her fingers tracing over the photo. "I can't…"

"I want you to have it. It's a piece of him. I know he's not that man anymore but...I'm going to find him."

Rory nods, hastily wiping a tear from her cheek. "Thank you."

Steve smiles. "You're welcome. Eat up. There's plenty if you want more. Just let JARVIS know."

Rory nods, setting the picture down before picking up the plate of spaghetti.

Rory doesn't know what to do with herself. She had finished her dinner and Steve had picked up the plates of food before she was alone again. There was a TV on the wall but she was scared to turn it on. Tony had shown her the food in the kitchen to snack on but she didn't feel hungry. There were a few books on the mostly empty shelf but she didn't feel like reading. There was no one dictating what she did with her time anymore. No one keeping her to a strict schedule. She felt antsy, nervous, unsure. That makes her almost glad when Nat shows up to check on her.

"How are you doing, sweetie?" She asks, sitting on the couch next to Rory.

Rory chews her lip. "I...I don't know what to do. I don't...there's no…"

"Structure. Routine." Nat smiles at her. "I get it. It's an adjustment. Going from every moment of your life being dictated to having the freedom to make your own decisions is tough. You're scared you'll make the wrong one." Rory nods in agreement. "It's okay. You'll get used to it. If it helps, we can set up a routine with JARVIS. He can wake you up at a certain time every day, remind you to do something at certain times. We can make this work for you."

Rory nods. "Okay. I-I'd like that."

Nat smiles. "Good. We'll do that tomorrow. For now, it's late and you've had a long day. Why don't you go ahead and call it a night?"

Rory nods again. "Okay."

Nat takes her leave, leaving Rory alone again. The bathroom in her room is bigger than the room she'd stayed in at the HYDRA compound and it's fully stocked with things for her. She's unsure of what to do for a few moments, having to pause to take it all in. It certainly was going to be an adjustment for her, having all this freedom and space. It felt wrong, like any moment someone was going to walk through the door and punish her for trying to do something without being told to do it.

Her next problem is the bed.

It's soft and pillowy and she hates it. She's not sure how long she spends tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable. It was like laying on a pile of clouds and she didn't like it. She also didn't like how big the room was. It was a lot of empty space and a lot of shadows. She kept expecting someone to throw open the door and march in and drag her out of bed. Panic starts to rise from her toes to her chest as memories flood her. She can hear the heavy boots coming down the hallway, the clang of the door as it unlocks. The smell of his aftershave as he presses in close to her.

Rory jumps out of bed, fighting the urge to be sick as she crawls under the frame. It was just big enough to slide under but she doesn't care, pressing her face into the carpet as she tries to calm her breathing. She's safe, she's in the tower with the Avengers. It isn't concrete, it's carpet against her skin. There's no hand reaching under the bed to grab her ankle and tug her out and reprimand her for trying to hide where there's nowhere to hide. Nowhere to be safe.