He would do anything for his brother, anything, which is why he'd tried to make the relationship work in the first place. Sure, originally he'd thought it could work but as time progressed and it became apparent that they were just not on the same page Edward had continued with it regardless in hopes that it would make Al happy. There's only so much lying to oneself a person can do before it starts eating away at them though and rather than talk to Alphonse about it, Ed had buried his concerns as if they would just go away, being ignored hard enough. Val's arrival only brought everything to the surface because of Al's jealousy, but there was only so much Ed could do in that position to juggle the needs of both of them and if she hadn't shown up it was entirely possible that Ed would have maintained that downward spiral in an attempt to make Alphonse happy until something else happened instead.

There was no way for him to tell Al that he'd done what he'd had to for them, so they could get a fresh start. He was no good for his brother trapped in an endless cycle of guilt and worrying and that's where they'd be if he remembered the situation with Valeria or how things had gone with Alphonse. Sure he'd left a note, a hint for Alphonse to know that his priority had been his brother the whole time but Ed no longer even remembered that much.

Alphonse doesn't say anything so that leaves him a loss with how to deal with this, moving them to the couch to sit down and settling in beside his brother when Al reaches for him. "You can't keep drinking like this, you know." He still has no idea how long it had been going on, or if his brother had any intention of continuing, but the worry is etched pretty clearly in his features as he watches him. The tone more concern than reprimand as he shifts an arm around the younger carefully.