Leon!! He got to meet Mark when he was at Full Optimism mode, because not only had he not been bitten yet, but Mark was taken from a canon point where he really needed this to all work out. Maybe it was a bit delusional of him but he saw this as getting a second chance, and he also really needed it to work, so, you know. The power of positive thinking! Even Leon being blunt and straightforward wasn't enough to totally dissuade him, not only because Mark was so desperate for this to work but because Leon did keep entertaining his notions. They were obviously at odds on this front but Mark saw just enough commonality between them to make things work.
That and, despite Leon trending more towards practicality and the frustration of being here along with it, Mark could still see in him a good person who wanted to help. Maybe not the entire planet, maybe just the group alone, but that's a start, right? He's dealt with people who have had way worse motivations and was still able to see the good in them, so Mark figured it was there in Leon, no matter how he presented himself.
And he was validated when Leon helped him fend off Ninety-Nine and Hella from murdering probablyzuko in Teen Bowl! That Leon's first instinct was to leap into the fray meant a lot. It didn't matter that he wasn't powered like the rest of them were; he took charge, gave Mark good direction, and helped him to save a life, and that was really important to him. Leon did not beat the "actually a good person" allegations by helping him there.
Nor by bringing him a bottle of water later on... and certainly not by playing along with Mark's optimism shtick. Whether Leon actually meant it or not hardly mattered at that point, because the fact of the matter was, at minimum, he was playing along with him. Mark was obviously much worse off after being bitten, and still desperately trying to hold on to his faith in the mission and people both, so for Leon to validate that, in a way? It really meant a lot to him, picked his spirits up, helped him continue believing that what they were doing meant something... and even though Mark would have never guessed that Leon was there to be the practical one, he really believed he was there for the same reason as he was: to be helpful in getting the job done, and saving lives.
Even if Leon did successfully challenge him a number of times. Yeah, Mark's optimistic, but he has his doubts that Leon was successfully able to dig into. He wasn't ever totally delusional, and there were times to appreciate Leon's realism — because Mark knows his power levels make him a threat, and because staying grounded and accepting that things might not work out okay became increasingly important as his infection progressed. Leon was a steadying presence for him, even if Mark didn't quite ever directly admit it.
But reuniting with him at the end was rewarding! Every time he got a smile out of Leon, it was rewarding. Sure, he'd met this gruff and businesslike guy who didn't consider himself a good person in a mission to save lives, but through his actions Leon showed that he did care, after all. Chalk up a win for Mark to be annoying about — but he also won't stop working to convince Leon that he's a good guy after all, and he hopes that Leon will carry that with him after he's gone back home, too.
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That and, despite Leon trending more towards practicality and the frustration of being here along with it, Mark could still see in him a good person who wanted to help. Maybe not the entire planet, maybe just the group alone, but that's a start, right? He's dealt with people who have had way worse motivations and was still able to see the good in them, so Mark figured it was there in Leon, no matter how he presented himself.
And he was validated when Leon helped him fend off Ninety-Nine and Hella from murdering probablyzuko in Teen Bowl! That Leon's first instinct was to leap into the fray meant a lot. It didn't matter that he wasn't powered like the rest of them were; he took charge, gave Mark good direction, and helped him to save a life, and that was really important to him. Leon did not beat the "actually a good person" allegations by helping him there.
Nor by bringing him a bottle of water later on... and certainly not by playing along with Mark's optimism shtick. Whether Leon actually meant it or not hardly mattered at that point, because the fact of the matter was, at minimum, he was playing along with him. Mark was obviously much worse off after being bitten, and still desperately trying to hold on to his faith in the mission and people both, so for Leon to validate that, in a way? It really meant a lot to him, picked his spirits up, helped him continue believing that what they were doing meant something... and even though Mark would have never guessed that Leon was there to be the practical one, he really believed he was there for the same reason as he was: to be helpful in getting the job done, and saving lives.
Even if Leon did successfully challenge him a number of times. Yeah, Mark's optimistic, but he has his doubts that Leon was successfully able to dig into. He wasn't ever totally delusional, and there were times to appreciate Leon's realism — because Mark knows his power levels make him a threat, and because staying grounded and accepting that things might not work out okay became increasingly important as his infection progressed. Leon was a steadying presence for him, even if Mark didn't quite ever directly admit it.
But reuniting with him at the end was rewarding! Every time he got a smile out of Leon, it was rewarding. Sure, he'd met this gruff and businesslike guy who didn't consider himself a good person in a mission to save lives, but through his actions Leon showed that he did care, after all. Chalk up a win for Mark to be annoying about — but he also won't stop working to convince Leon that he's a good guy after all, and he hopes that Leon will carry that with him after he's gone back home, too.