Marine's 2-year-old brother takes his place in girlfriend's prom photos

A Louisiana teen’s Marine boyfriend couldn’t take her to the prom because he was away at military training, so instead she had his baby brother step in to replace him.

Skyler Fontaine, 18, of New Orleans was initially upset Gage Moak wouldn’t be around to take her to the dance, but she thought posing for photos with his 2-year-old brother Clay would be a sweet gesture.

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“He is a family man and very sentimental," Fontaine told Fox 8 of her boyfriend. "Clay wants to be just like his big brother. I'm very close to him, he is like my own little brother," she said.

All dressed up in mini Marine Corps dress blues in some of the photos and a tiny tuxedo in the rest, young Clay looks thrilled to be photographed alongside his brother’s girlfriend. Fontaine shared the sweet photos online, which have since gone viral, receiving over 42,000 retweets and 200,000 likes on Twitter as on Friday morning.

“My boyfriend is a Marine and isn’t home to take me to my senior prom... so his little brother stepped in and took his place. Needless to say, this girl is so happy,” she wrote in the post.

While it’s been hard for Fontaine to be separated from her boyfriend of a year, who’s 1,000 miles away on the East Coast training for his Military Occupation Specialty, she supports the sacrifice he’s making. "I have been with him through this entire process of becoming a Marine, and that has given us a special bond," she told Fox 8.

Fontaine said she was surprised the photos went viral.

"I received so much amazing feedback from our friends and family!" she told The Times-Picayune. "My boyfriend was so thrilled. Like I said, he's sentimental when it comes to his family, so it really touched his heart," she said.

Despite the fun they seem to be having in the pictures, Fontaine said she didn’t actually go to the prom with Clay, but a group of friends instead.