Quotes are from James Allen McCune (Jimmy) on the Walking Dead. r/thewalkingdead/comments/p67lt/i_am_actor_james_allen_mccune_and_i_play_jimmy_on/
About Norman Reedus / Daryl Dixon:
"Even if he does wear women's underwear."
"If he didn't want me telling people about his fascination with lace he shouldn't have showed it to me."
"Daryl does. He was telling me that on afew occasions he wore in the hopes that at some point the lace would show, and someone might catch it. He wanted to confuse people, but I don't think he was actually implying anything for his character, other than he wears what he can find. haha."
Carol had finished washing her family's clothing down at the quarry earlier than she expected, so she decided to try and do a good deed for one of the other members of the group. She walked over to Daryl and Merle's tents, knowing that Ed would disapprove. She just needed to keep her hands busy and the two Dixon brothers probably hadn't had a chance to wash their own in a while. It seemed they were always out hunting. Or at least, Daryl was. Merle would venture off alone for a while but didn't usually bring anything back besides a meaner and louder disposition.
"Daryl?" She spoke in her usual quiet tone, knowing that if the hunter was in his tent, he'd hear her. He flipped the tent flap up but didn't come out.
"What?" His voice always held a tone of anger, no matter how many times she tried to be polite.
"I was wonderin' if you needed any of your clothes washed? I've got some extra time and I thought—"
"I can wash my own damn clothes, woman," he cut her off and let the tent flap drop returning his attention to his crossbow.
* . * . *
A lot had happened in the past few weeks. Losing Ed, almost getting blown up at the CDC, Rick leaving Sophia in the woods. And now Daryl was hurt while out looking for her little girl. Carol felt she needed to do something for the man, something to show her appreciation and that she cared about him. Knowing he would be kept in the house that evening, Carol ventured into Daryl's tent to find his clothes, surely his things could do with a little washing now. Besides, keeping the campsite running kept her mind off Sophia being in the woods, though, those thoughts were never far away.
She picked up the pile of clothes in the corner of his tent and gently rummaged around his bags and bike for any other dirty items. After quickly checking the pockets of his pants, she didn't want to accidentally soak any of their precious ammo, she plopped them all in the wash bucket she was using.
Daryl only had about three changes of clothes. Three sleeveless shirts, one of which did have sleeves until he came home today banged up and bleeding. Wearing their clothes so much and so often was making them wear out really quickly. His pants were worn thin in many spots, his socks had holes, and his briefs were ragged. It wasn't until she was almost finished and picked up the last pair of pants did she notice something rather odd. A lacy pair of women's panties floated out of his pants like he had pulled them both down at the same time.
Carol's brow furrowed. They were newer than most of his other items. She glanced around the camp making sure no one was really paying attention to her and held them up. High waisted, nylon women's briefs with lace on the edge in a pretty jewel tone blue. Looking closely, they did seem to be stretched to fit a man's body, puckered in the front. Were these really Daryl's?
Carol held in a tiny snicker and lowered the lacy pair of panties quickly and washed them with the rest. She hung almost all of his clothes on the makeshift clothesline right in camp and hid the panties in her tent, hoping they'd dry in the Georgia heat even if they weren't in direct sunlight.
The next day, when Daryl was moved from the house to his tent in camp, Carol folded all of his clothes and neatly tucked the lacy, blue panties under the first item on the pile. She was curious after all. She brought them into his tent and placed them next to him.
"What 're you doin'?" he asked accusingly.
"I just washed your clothes for you," she replied.
A slight pink blush started at the tips of his ears and Daryl looked away. "I told ya I could wash 'em myself." Carol noted that his tone was harsh but the anger wasn't quite right. She smirked but didn't move to leave.
"What are ya starin' at?" he questioned, finally looking back at her, the blush slowly disappearing from his ears. Carol moved her gaze down to the pile of clothes and flicked back the top item, displaying the pretty pair of panties.
The disappearing blush returned full force as Daryl glanced down and then away from her again. He mumbled, "When, uh, Glenn scavenged clothes from the city..." he paused, then glanced back up to Carol's face, eyes squinted, then looked back at the ground. "All he brought back for the guys were... boxers, and..."
Carol tried to keep a straight face but a small smirk twitched the corner of her lips.
"I like more," he paused again, this time searching for a word, "stability, ya'know?" He glanced back up at Carol and then quickly muttered the rest, "So I snatched it out of one of the packs he brought for the women."
Carol flipped the top item back down, hiding the blue lace. She walked out of the tent, a small smile on her face. She heard him growl out a warning to her as she left. "Best not say anythin'."