diff --git a/base/runtime/internal.odin b/base/runtime/internal.odin
index 6f0445787..3e9c524bd 100644
--- a/base/runtime/internal.odin
+++ b/base/runtime/internal.odin
@@ -1043,8 +1043,8 @@ __write_bits :: proc "contextless" (dst, src: [^]byte, offset: uintptr, size: ui
 	for i in 0..<size {
 		j := offset+i
 		the_bit := byte((src[i>>3]) & (1<<(i&7)) != 0)
-		b := the_bit<<(j&7)
-		dst[j>>3] = (dst[j>>3] &~ b) | b
+		dst[j>>3] &~=       1<<(j&7)
+		dst[j>>3]  |= the_bit<<(j&7)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -1052,7 +1052,7 @@ __read_bits :: proc "contextless" (dst, src: [^]byte, offset: uintptr, size: uin
 	for j in 0..<size {
 		i := offset+j
 		the_bit := byte((src[i>>3]) & (1<<(i&7)) != 0)
-		b := the_bit<<(j&7)
-		dst[j>>3] = (dst[j>>3] &~ b) | b
+		dst[j>>3] &~=       1<<(j&7)
+		dst[j>>3]  |= the_bit<<(j&7)
 	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file