.
.
Out of necessity, Morioka was better budgeting money than him.
"There's a flash sale for frozen shrimp!" Morioka said. Sakurai looked up from his computer; she was already pulling on her coat, more animated than he was used to seeing her. "It's 500 yen for a two pound bag! Don't you know how cheap that is?"
Pretty cheap, Sakurai realized, because even he had enough sense to know that a two pound bag didn't normally cost 500 yen.
She always grocery shopped that way: she always bought in bulk and the vegetables she got were always just shy of turning, the bruised but still serviceable ones plucked from the bargain bin. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little neurotic about money. I had to budget a lot since I've become a NEET."
"It's okay," Sakurai said, smiling. "It's commendable, really." Then he listened patiently as she gasped at the price of sunflower oil, utterly aghast at throwing away a thousand yen just to fry a single batch of tempura.
xXx
.
He didn't like the look on her face. Standing nervously, he fidgeted as Morioka stared at the brand new laptop, which he wanted to surprise her with for their anniversary. "It's that gaming laptop!" he had told her, excitedly. "I remember how excited you were when you saw the display at the store!"
Morioka's face was pale as she hesitantly opened the computer.
"You could pay six months' worth of utilities with the cost of this," she said, quietly. Sakurai's face fell.
"I'm sorry," Sakurai said. "You don't like it."
"Forgive me! I do like it. But I'm just afraid we can't afford this." Morioka blinked, then pressed a hand to her belly. "I'm not contributing financially to this household, and we have a baby on the way. Oh, Yuta, I'm sorry, but big purchases like this make me nervous."
He knew she felt bad for making him feel bad, so he smiled sadly and sat beside her.
"There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about," he began gently, and Morioka's face was stricken. "I wasn't sure how to broach this before, but we're married now and I think it's time to tell you-"
"You're mad at me for not working," Morioka said.
"What? No-"
"You're stressed at your job because your wife is a useless NEET!"
"I want to show you something," Sakurai said, and he got up and disappeared into the bedroom.
xXx
.
Financial documents. Multiple statements. A copy of his investment portfolio; then he showed her his net worth of investments online.
Morioka took his bank book from him and stared.
"That's a lot of zeroes," Morioka said, wonderingly.
"I wasn't sure when to tell you," Sakurai said. "When my parents died, I inherited their estate. This was just from the trust fund; I padded my savings after selling the house."
"You're as wealthy as those celebrities," Morioka said. She scrolled through the page, staring. "Oh my god, Yuta! You're like a young master from a manga! Why are you working?" Morioka said. "You already make twice your salary from investments alone!"
"It never felt right, using the money from them." Sakurai rubbed his neck, awkwardly. "I wanted to make a living on my own. I'm sorry for not telling you," Sakurai said. "I wanted to tell you when we were first married, but I didn't know how to bring it up, and I suppose I was a little embarrassed. You've always been so responsible, and I didn't know how to be frugal."
"It's okay," Morioka said. She rubbed her stomach, then took Sakurai's hand. "This makes me very happy. At least I know we can take care of the baby."
"That's also something I wanted to ask you," Sakurai said. "I wanted to make you a beneficiary of my accounts. There's a lot of paperwork involved, but I want to make sure you're taken care of if something happens to me. I've already talked to my financial advisor about starting an account for the baby.
"So that's why," Sakurai began, and he cleared his throat, nervously, "that's why I want you to accept the laptop. Because you've always had hardship and I wanted to give you something that'd make you happy."
"Yuta," Morioka said, and she started crying.
"Moriko!" Sakurai said. He jumped up and hugged her. "Moriko, what's wrong?"
"This is a really nice laptop!" Morioka hiccuped, then cried into his shirt stupidly.