If Simon were being honest with himself, and he so rarely was, he was worried about the Captain. The worst part was, there really wasn't anyone he could tell. Jayne still intimidated the hell out of him, and he wouldn't understand it anyway. He'd never worry Kaylee, not for anything. And River... Oh, he knew River could sense his distress. She always could, even before she'd been torn to shreds by the Alliance. Possibly before she'd even truly developed her abilities due to the bond they shared. But he wouldn't dare take it to her. So he was left dwelling on the Captain's obvious issues by himself. The occasional cuts and bruises. The anger welling up in him. The tendency to say or do stupid things. It was all on him and him alone.
The drinking, at least, that wasn't new. That Simon was used to. And he also knew what being in a bar with Mal could entail. But it wasn't U Day, there wasn't even an Alliance on this planet. Maybe they could just have a couple of drinks like civilized companions.
And maybe this was Malcolm Reynolds.
"Isn't that how it always is, though?" he asked, swirling the liquid a bit. It was strong, but he'd had worse, and he was able to down it in three decent sized chugs. "No matter the world, no matter the situation. People are always going to go about their lives as if nothing is wrong when, in fact, everything is wrong." Miranda. He didn't regret using his wish for that for an instant, even if Martha had gotten loads of amazing medical tech. He'd needed to understand, to know.
Mal ordered another round and Simon eyed him warily, but simply nodded for another as well. Even he could admit Mal could drink him under the table, but he could keep up for a bit at least.