Al had the patience of a saint when it came to Ed. Not many people could handle his irritable, short tempered older brother the way Al could, but honestly even saints had their limits. Eight weeks had passed since Edward had submitted to the life saving surgery that he's so vehemently opposed, much to Winry and Al's shock and pleasure. Eight weeks of non stop complaining, sass and peevishness. Al understood, to a point, that cabin fever had set in and Ed just wasn't the kind of person that dealt well with being unoccupied. He sympathised with his older brother, he really did, but it wasn't coincidence that Al had started tutoring at his university every night to escape the invalid's ire.
That's not to say Ed was being left alone—Al was at his wits end, not a monster—because almost every night since the surgery, one Roy Mustang found his way to the Elric's dining room table for dinner. Al didn't quite know what to make of it at first. The conversation was always mundane; office drama of Mustang's, what Ed had read that day, etc. The tone, while not always affable, was never as strained as what it had been before the surgery. Al supposed he could chalk it up to his own interference, when he not so subtly threatened the General into talking sense to his older brother... but that didn't seem right either. The easiest answer was a romantic relationship, but Al was not going to assume something like that without any evidence. They never touched one another, Al had seen no lingering looks, and General Mustang always left as soon as he helped with the dishes. Honestly, he didn't really care either way and certainly didn't want to dwell on any romantic entanglements his brother might have. Ew.
Regardless of the nature of the relationship between his older brother and much older superior officer, Al couldn't help but be rather pleased with the situation. The General was a pleasant man to be around, and his being around meant that Al didn't feel as bad about actively avoiding his older brother during this... difficult period. Besides, at the end of the day he just wanted Ed to be happy—and if the subtle shine of contentment in his brother's eyes was to be trusted, Alphonse was pretty sure he'd found that happiness.