Here's my take on this...I figure that Tony is 34 when he makes the Iron Man suit (in 2008). I know it's probably not correct, but here Pepper is only one year younger than Tony and in the same grade as him. Also, Rhodey is three years older than Tony here. There is indeed reason for that, which I have planned. So enjoy! Pepperony all the way!! Disclaimer: No, Iron Man is sadly not mine.... :(

The year was 1979…

"Mommy, what if the other kids don't like me?" A small, 4 year old girl looked up at her mother and frowned. The little girl held onto her mother's hand quite tightly as they neared towards the entrance to the preschool. The family had just moved from New York to Malibu, California due to the father getting a job promotion.

"I'm sure they'll love you, honey." The mother assured. "Just be yourself, Virginia." The mother knelt down to face her daughter. She embraced the little girl and gave her a kiss goodbye. It would be her first time away at school and not at home. The mother couldn't help thinking how fast time could fly.

But little Virginia had refused to let go of her mother's hand. "Honey, you have to go to school now."

"But I don't want to! I want you to come!" Tears streamed down young Virginia's face and she began to whine. Other kids had began filing into the school, walking around the mother and daughter who were in the middle of the walk way.

Through Virginia's tears she noticed the other children without their parents going in, staring at her. She didn't like being looked at that way, it made her feel bad. Then, when a little boy with messy dark brown almost jet black hair and chocolate brown eyes walked by Virginia, noticed her crying, and grinned, finding her sadness funny, she burst out bawling.

"Virginia, stop it. I will be back soon." The mother said to her daughter sternly. "Go make some new friends. Please calm down." The mother embraced the preschooler, rubbing her back. After a minute, Virginia had stopped her crying and had calmed down.

"I-I think I can go in now, mommy." The little girl managed a small timid smile which complimented her baby blue eyes and long wavy red hair nicely. She had been described by many in her parents workplaces as the cutest little girl they had ever seen.

"I think you can go too, honey. I love you." The mother gave her daughter one last kiss before her daughter entered the preschool.

Poor Virginia! The little girl was so shy that it was hard for her to keep up with the other kids in her class. Virginia found that either the little girl or boy she was talking to was too energetic and outgoing for her to play with or they had seen her crying outside of the school and made fun of her for it.

Virginia sat there at the corner table, coloring in a horse from one of the coloring books by herself. Once she had finished her coloring project, she decided to sit there and watch the other kids play.

She noticed some girls playing tag, a bunch of boys tackling each other, a girl and a boy playing with legos, ...and that boy.

She saw the boy who had smiled at her crying earlier playing in the opposite corner of the room with blocks alone. Virginia stared at him, she was mad at him for making fun of her. She then did something very unlike herself; she walked over to where the boy played to confront him.

"You were making fun of me. Why?" Virginia asked the boy who was still preoccupied with his blocks and building.

The little boy turned around, startled. "Oh. It's you." He grinned at Virginia. "I made fun of you because you were crying."

"Well that's not very nice." Virginia said, hurt.

"You're right. It's not." The little boy laughed turning back to his blocks."Do you want to help me build?"

"…What?" Virginia was very confused at this. "I thought you didn't like me."

"Nope. I don't know you yet. So I don't know if I like you or not." The little boy shrugged. "I was only being mean to you, anyways. I never said that I didn't like you."

"Oh." Virginia responded, still not fully understanding what he meant. "I guess I'll play with you then." She sat down next to the little boy who she now considered a new friend.

"Cool." The little boy grinned as she sat down next to her. "I'm Tony. Tony Stark. My parents are famous. What's your name?"

"Uhh…" The little girl stuttered, taken aback by his use of last name. "I'm Virginia. Virginia Potts. I don't think my parents are famous though."

"I don't think so either, Potts. I never heard of you." Tony shrugged.

"Hey! My name's Virginia! Potts is my last name!" The little girl exclaimed. "How are your parents famous anyways? I've never heard of you either." She pouted, picking up a blue block.

"I know. I don't like the name 'Virginia' so I'm calling you by your last name until I make up a nickname for you." Tony shrugged once again. "You've probably not heard of my mom and dad because they're famous mostly to adults. They make weapons and I will too someday. I built an engine by myself last year, I was four then. I'm five now. Potts, how old are you?" He asked.

"I'm four." Virginia responded. "What exactly is an engine and why don't you like my name?" She was offended.

"An engine is the thing that makes cars move. That's as easy as I can explain it." Tony laughed grabbing a red block and adding it to the tower. "I don't know why I don't like your name. I just don't." He smiled.

"Well that's mean." Virginia pouted.

"Not really, Potts. I'm telling the truth." He said standing up. "There's food over there. Come with me." Tony reached his hand towards his new friend to help her up. Virginia took his hand a little reluctantly, but she felt that Tony was her friend now whom she trusted. When Virginia stood up, she realized that Tony was a lot shorter than she was. She was always tall for her age, but he was really short.

"Wow. You're tall." Tony exclaimed, looking up at his new friend. He grabbed Virginia's hand again, quickly forgetting the height difference, and dragged her to the snack table. "Alright, coming through, coming through." Tony pushed through the rest of the kids surrounding the snack table, all of them unwillingly letting the boy and the girl through.

"That wasn't very nice, Tony." Virginia scolded her friend when they got their snacks and sat down at their own table to eat them.

"Well, they let us by didn't they?" Tony shrugged from across the table from Virginia. All of a sudden, Tony squinted at Virginia's face and inched in closer and closer to her.

"You know, Potts." Tony began, still up close. "You have freckles…but they look like there's flakes of…uhhh…pepper on your face." Tony laughed. "Yeah! It looks like pepper! You know what pepper is right?"

"No…" Virginia responded, a little scared that Tony was right in her face like this.

Tony sighed. "Okay…you know those little black things that your mom sometimes sprinkles on your macaroni and cheese? That's pepper."

"Ohhhh…" Virginia understood.

"Yep." Tony grinned."You know what? I like the sound of 'pepper'. That'll be your nickname."

"Pepper?" Virginia giggled at the sound of it.

"Yep, that's your nickname, Potts." Tony laughed. "Or should I say Pepper? Pepper Potts."

Later on…

The preschool day was now over. Both the young Pepper Potts and Tony Stark were devastated that they had to leave. Pepper and Tony had found that they were inseparable…best friends.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Pepper." Tony sighed as the two of them walked out of the school together. Virginia still grinned at the thought of being called by her new nickname.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow Tony." Pepper sighed, saying goodbye to her first friend she ever had. She was already excited for school again the next day. Tony wanted to tell her how he built that engine. The two walked slowly back to their parents…and kept looking behind their shoulders as they neared farther and farther away from each other.

"How was school today, Tony?" Maria Stark asked her son when they both had climbed into the back of the limo. They were now headed over to Stark Industries where there was a big meeting going on. So Howard was a busy man today.

Maria knew that her son's friend, Rhodey would be there at the company as well. Rhodey's dad, who worked for Stark Industries was also involved in the meeting. Although, Mr. Rhodes wasn't exactly high ranking in his job, he was still a necessity to the business's continuing success. Naturally, Maria would bring Tony over there so the two could keep each other company, which was how they met in the first place. Despite the three year age difference, Rhodey being eight and Tony being five, the two couldn't be closer as friends.

"It was good." Tony answered. "I met this girl today. I really like her. Her name is Virginia Potts but I call her Pepper Potts." The little boy grinned up at his mother who laughed at her son's silliness.

"I hope you weren't mean to her, Tony." Maria laughed, but was actually considering this as something her son might do. She flinched at the thought. Tony was always one to speak his mind.

"No I wasn't." Tony leaned back in the car seat and looked out the window. Maria then noticed something…remembered something.

"Honey, what did you say her last name was again?" Maria asked her son.

"Potts." He said distractedly.

"Tony, Pepper's dad transferred to working over to our company, you know. He'll be at this meeting maybe." She told Tony, who still seemed distracted.

"That's good." He replied, still thinking about her.

"Hurry up, honey! I'm going to be late! You have to drop me off soon! Gotta look good for the boss!" Mr. Potts chuckled sitting in the front passenger's seat of the van. The Potts had two cars, but something was now disastrously wrong with the other one, therefore Mrs. Potts had to drive her husband to the big meeting soon.

"Alright! Just let Virginia get settled in the back!" Mrs. Potts replied from the driver's seat. "Are you ready to go?" The little girl nodded.

"Alright." Mrs. Potts pulled the car out of the parking lot. "How was your first day?"

"Good" Virginia grinned from ear to ear when she remembered her day. "I met this boy. He's my friend."

"See I told you you'd make friends!" Her mother exclaimed happily. "What's his name? Maybe we can invite him over sometime."

"Tony Stark." The two parents gasped from the front.

"Virginia, are you sure he wasn't joking?" Her father asked, in shock.

"No. Tony wouldn't lie about his name, daddy!" The little girl giggled in the back at her father. "He said he was famous."

"Exactly dear. He is very famous." The dad exclaimed, trying to figure out how to describe fame to a four year old. "And your daddy is working for his daddy at their company now. That's where we're going."

"Yay! Do I get to see Tony?" Virginia cried happily from the back.

"Uhh…we'll see honey." The mother replied, quite doubtfully.