Mal didn't appreciate the drunk making a grab for the Princess. Even if she hadn't been a friend he still wouldn't because that was just not the way real men acted. But because she was a friend it only made him twice as cranky. With no warning his hand balled into a fist and flew at the drunks jaw. "Got your attention yet?" He asked as he shook out his hand and winced. "No wonder you didn't hear me, your head is too hard. Get lost." He hissed through his teeth and stared him down.
The drunk man staggered some and looked up in shock. "You're insane!" He said to the former Firefly captain who simply smirked and tilted his head. "It's been said. Now do we have ourselves an understandin here or are we gonna have problems?" At this point the bar security had caught notice of the small scuffle and Mal pointed at the drunk.
"He started it. Made a grab for my friend here." Pointing a thumb at Leia he lowered his hands to show he wasn't going to attack again and raised a metaphorical white flag. Sitting down as innocently as he could at the other side of Leia's table he grinned at security.