Demands by the audience or the story?

I'm gearing towards a kinder, gentler ending to Taking Nicky, it seems...but the readers I'm hearing from seem to be expecting something truly vicious and cruel. And to be honest, that is what I was suggesting throughout the story, so far. 

So...do I follow the story's demands? Give the characters buttercups and Sunday brunch? Or do I impose explosions and fireworks? I'm torn between the two.

The former would be a surprise. A twist in the story's structure, but workable. In fact, it would give me the opportunity to show two men making pure, sensuous love with no limits. Which is appealing. I could write it to be as erotic as I wanted maybe even over a couple of chapters...

The latter would be a bit on the predictable side. Bam! Crush, kill, destroy. Which I have done in other work. Hell, the ending to Dirc and the Dyarvos Cafe has both, but that book was SF/Fantasy/Horror...

Thing is, when I tried to do a happy ending in Underground Guy and The Beast in the Nothing Room, response was they weren't as strong as could have been. Same for Porno Manifesto. So maybe happy endings aren't my forté.

The ending to A Place of Safety's 3 volumes wound up a lot quieter than I expected, and far gentler, but I would hardly call it a happy ending. Just the right one. And Bobby Carapisi needed a gentle ending of hope, so that fit.

I dunno. I may try it both ways and see with feels best.