Chapter Text
Tungsten was riding a dirt-bike along her favorite trail on a hot summer day. She crested a small hill and suddenly came up alongside a half-naked hippie snoozing next to a road-worn camper-van on a gravel access road.
She shut off her dirt-bike, took off her helmet, and raised a hand in greeting. "Sorry to disturb you."
The topless Oxygen made no effort to cover herself. "No worries," she said. "Oxygen. How's it goin'."
"Tungsten. Pleased to meet you. How did you end up out here? The road isn't even marked."
Oxygen shrugged. "Never been here before. Won't stay long. Want a beer?"
"Please," a thirsty Tungsten said.
Oxygen opened a cooler next to her lounge-chair and tossed a cold one to Tungsten. "Take the load off," she said. "And why don't you take your shirt off."
"...excuse me?" Tungsten asked.
"It'll be awkward if only one of us is topless," Oxygen said. "And it's wicked hot out here, and I don't feel like putting a shirt on."
Tungsten had taken no notice of the heat. But, despite her military discipline, she found herself being pulled into Oxygen's pace.
"Yeah, alright," said Tungsten, as she pulled off her own shirt.