A.N: I wrote this for MitsuChou week in the summer and thought I'd share it!
Learning
"It was so romantic!" Sarada gushed as she walked out of the movie theater with her team mates "Don't you think?"
"How the heck should we know?" Boruto asks with a scoff "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but it sure was boring! Right, Mitsuki?"
"I think it was interesting" the pale boy answers, making Boruto gag as Sarada gives him a smug look.
"Seriously, Mitsuki?"
"Yes, I find the concept of romantic feelings rather interesting" he says "Though I'm not entirely sure if I understand it."
"Probably not" he hears from behind him "In real life, romances are way more of a drag than in movies."
He turns, seeing team 10 coming out of the theater.
"You guys went to watch that thing too?!" Boruto wrinkled his nose "We got tricked by Sarada, but you two- "
"Got blackmailed by Chubs" Inojin interrupts, Shikadai nodding in agreement. Chou Chou glared at them.
"Blackmailed? I saved your asses during the last mission; coming to the movies with me was the least you could do!" she snapped.
"Sounds like quilt tripping would be a more appropriate term" Mitsuki says, getting the girl to move her glare to him instead. And to Inojin again as the blond says: "Shikadai's right you know; such happy sappy couples don't exist in real life."
"Yes, they do!" Sarada and Chou Chou chorused, making the boys wince at the volume.
"Oh yeah? Give me one example" Inojin said, smirking smugly.
"Your parents" Chou Chou answered without missing a beat, causing Inojin's smirk to fall.
"She has a point" Shikadai agreed "They are always so lovey-dovey when they think no one's watching."
Boruto gagged as Sarada swooned. Inspecting Inojin's now red face, Mitsuki commented: "Very interesting."
"There's an exception to every rule!" the no longer so pale blond hissed "Besides, my parents are gross…"
"You boys just don't get it" Chou Chou said, jabbing a finger at Mitsuki's chest "Especially you."
Mitsuki blinked.
"Me?"
"Yes, you!" the girl confirmed "You're definitely the one with the most twisted idea of romance!"
"I am?"
"Yeah!" Chou Chou huffed in annoyance "You keep saying that Sarada and Boruto make a good couple, which they don't!"
"For once I agree with Chou Chou, Mitsuki" Boruto put in, gagging "Sometimes you're just way too weird."
"Absolutely!" Sarada agreed, shivering. Watching them in amusement, Shikadai pointed out: "I think he has a point; in a way you two are a lot like my parents."
The looks of horror the Nara boy got for that comment were very amusing to Mitsuki.
"I think there are all kinds of ways to express love" he said.
"Maybe when things start getting sour" Chou Chou said "But true love is sweet, like the Yamanakas!"
"Do we really need to talk about this?" Inojin muttered, smiling as Shikadai patted him on the back and mouthed "let's bail."
Mitsuki noticed, of course, but didn't call them out on it. Or Boruto when he joined the two. Now it was just him and the girls.
"Really, Mitsuki, that's how it is! Uncle Sai and aunt Ino are the sweetest couple ever!" Chou Chou went on, Sarada nodding besides her. The boy just stared at them blankly, not all that convinced. He still thought that Boruto and Sarada made a fine couple despite not being what the girls were describing.
Seeming to notice that they weren't getting through to him, Sarada huffed: "You're hopeless!"
"No, even he'll have to get it eventually" Chou Chou said, much to the surprise of both of her companions. Gripping Mitsuki's wrist, she started to drag him along "C'mon."
Mitsuki followed her wordlessly, curious to know what she had in mind. Sarada however, went and asked.
"Where are we going, Chou Chou?"
"To see if uncle and auntie are home; if they are, he'll get to see a real-life example!"
Sarada and Mitsuki shared a look, both thinking that Chou Chou was going overboard. And yet, they both went along with it.
XXXXX
"There they are!" Chou Chou cheered as they spied on the couple from the flower shop window "I knew they'd be in the store as long as uncle wasn't on a mission!"
They watched the two work around the shop, obviously talking about something to each other, there were no customers, but the group of three couldn't hear them. Occasionally, Ino would laugh at something that Sai said.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"This is… more boring than I thought it'd be" Sarada confessed "Didn't you say they're all lovey-dovey?"
"They are!" Chou Chou defended "But well… I suppose even they can't be like that all the time."
"I think they're interesting" Mitsuki said, surprising the other two "If you pay close attention to their faces, you can see a variety of expressions."
"…"
"…"
"…And that's interesting?" Sarada asked.
"Yes" Mitsuki smiled "Aren't they expressions of love?"
Sarada just stares, but Chou Chou laughs.
"Who would've thought that you of all people are actually a romantic!" she says "Maybe you have hope after all!"
"Hope?" Sarada asks, snickering "Hope for what?"
Mitsuki tilts his head with a small smile, exchanging glances with the still snickering Sarada, before they both look at Chou Chou. The girl blinks, and her friends grin even wider. Suddenly, she blushes.
"Oh-! Wha-! Whatever you're thinking, that's not what I meant!" she yells, her face going redder and redder as the two laugh "I meant in general, as in maybe there is some girl in the future!"
"Why girl?" Mitsuki asks, and Sarada's laughter stops abruptly as she looks at Mitsuki in shock. Chou Chou blinks, pointing at the boy dumbly "A guy… then? You're in to guys?"
"Why would I need to pick one?" he asks, smiling "Gender is irrelevant when it comes to love, isn't it?"
"…Eeh?" that was Sarada. That was all she knew to say. Chou Chou, getting over her shock, laughs.
"Well, that depends on the person" she tells the boy "So you're that type of person- wait, does that mean you're in love with Boruto!?"
"EEEH!?" this time Sarada was even louder.
"It's not like that" Mitsuki denied "He's my Sun."
"That sounds like a nickname for a romantic interest!" Chou Chou thought, but understood that it meant no. This was just how Mitsuki was.
Tilting his head to the side, Mitsuki eyed Chou Chou's thoughtful face.
"Chou Chou" he said, smirking when he was sure he had her attention again "Is that relief I see on your face?"
"What!?" the girl screamed. Sarada giggled, her amusement winning over her earlier shock. With a falsely innocent smile, Mitsuki said: "Perhaps you're relieved that I'm not romantically interested in Boruto."
Her face as red as ever, Chou Chou snapped: "Like I'd ever be interested in someone like you; I have standards!"
"Who said anything about me?" Mitsuki grinned "Who says I didn't mean that you fear to have competition when it comes to Boruto?"
Chou Chou's jaw dropped, and Sarada burst in to full blown laughter. Mitsuki's grin grew wider, and he expertly dodged the fist that Chou Chou aimed at him a few seconds later.
"Chou Chou, perhaps you are, as you tend to put it, in to me?" he asked, dodging yet another punch.
"You jerk, thinking too highly of yourself!" Chou Chou yelled, chasing after Mitsuki as they got further and further away from the store. Sarada, now on the ground, clutching her stomach that hurt because of all the laughing, watched after them. Despite everything Chou Chou said, her friend knew that the blush on her face spoke louder than her words.
"Aren't they just cute together!" Ino cheered from the doorway as her head poked out, Sai right behind her.
"As long as they don't kill each other, yes" Sai agreed. Sarada laughed.
"When did you two notice we were here?"
"When you started yelling" Ino replied "But what exactly were you kids doing?"
Sarada grinned.
"Just learning about love."
A.N: I was actually never too fond of SaiIno, but they're cute in Boruto and their baby boy is absolutely adorable, so I've come to love the ship.
And yes, Orochimaru is totally the kind of parent that teaches his (or hers or theirs; his team always referred to him as he so that's what I'm using despite many people using "they", but I think that in canon, Orochimaru's physical gender is currently male and his gender identity is "I couldn't care less") kids to throw gender stereotypes and assumptions about sexuality out the window.